


A Ghost in Roanapur

by HeirOfRohan



Category: Black Lagoon (Anime & Manga), Splinter Cell (Video Games), Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Badass Rock, Canon-Typical Violence, Divergent Timelines, Gang Violence, Ghost Recon Rock, Gun Violence, Implied Everything — this is BLACK LAGOON!, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Manga & Anime, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rock and Revy Relationship Angst and Hurt/Comfort and Fluff, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:00:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23557984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeirOfRohan/pseuds/HeirOfRohan
Summary: When Okajima Rokurou failed to get into university on his first try, thus failing his family's expectations of him, he decided to do a 180 turn and joined the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force. You can already imagine his family's shock at his decision.This is a story about how the world of Black Lagoon will change with a FAR more competent Rock as the protagonist of the story, acting as a security contractor/mercenary. And of course, there is something else that Rock had now besides his ability to talk his way out of anything — he had the training of the greatest special operations group in the world, bar none.To most of the known world, they are known as the United States Army's D Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group. The world thought them to be another company of 'Green Berets'.But, to the highest echelons of the intelligence community, and the United States Government, they are known by their true moniker——the Ghosts.
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Roanapur, Ghost! Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Foreword: I do not own Black Lagoon or some elements of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell series. They belong to Rei Hiroe and Ubisoft Entertainment respectively.

**A Ghost in Roanapur**

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Roanapur, Ghost! Part 1**

_“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”_

_\- George Orwell_

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

Okajima Rokurou yawned as he leaned on the railing on the deck of the ship, the Melanesia Maru, heading southbound towards Borneo in the South-China Sea. He had been on this ship for close to a week now, and the tedium of sea travel was close to giving him cabin fever. So, the raven-haired Japanese man was thankful to be out and about to enjoy the cool sea breeze, the crystal blue seas and the warm afternoon sunshine before he went stir crazy.

Feeling the disc in his shirt pocket, Rokurou sighed as he thought back on the ‘errand’ his boss in the Materials & Procurement Department of Asahi Heavy Industries had given him which made this trip possible. Mr. Kageyama and Rokurou’s immediate supervisor needed someone they could trust to handle this task and seeing as how they were short on reliable employees to carry out the job, Rokurou had been ‘conveniently’ free to be volunteered for the job.

Of course, they couldn’t possibly know that someone had _conveniently_ arranged for the shortage of employees at that specific time, nor do they know that they were being discretely investigated by an international task force, aimed at exposing the corruption within Asahi Industries to the world.

The effort, spearheaded by the United States and Japan, aims to find proof of the company’s shady dealings in the black market, as there were rumors spread throughout the Underworld that the Asahi Board of Directors have sanctioned nuclear proliferation in Third World countries, an act which would legally bankrupt the company due to them breaking the Non-Proliferation Treaty signed by Japan.

Normally, the Task Force would send one of their own elites to infiltrate and retrieve the information needed to expose Asahi Industries, but they settled for a better option instead — they sent a freelance mercenary / security contractor. It was made so that if the operative was exposed, the Task Force can disavow any knowledge of their involvement without risking their own operatives in the field.

And that was where Okajima Rokurou comes into the picture.

Unassuming, bland and quiet. The mild-mannered Japanese man was everything that one would expect an ordinary businessman to behave and look like. Dressed like a typical Japanese salaryman with raven-black hair with bangs hanging on the right side and ordinary brown eyes, his look was rounded with a teal tie, grey business slacks and a pair of black Oxford shoes. His form was the only feature that stood out from the man, as Rokurou possessed an athletic and toned physique that could only come from dedicated effort and long-term physical exercise.

Aside from that fact, he was completely unremarkable in every way.

Until someone with keen intuition looked, really _looked_ at him. The way he talked, the way he behaved, the way he _moved._ To an untrained eye, these facts would easily go over their heads. But, to an _exceptionally_ well-trained eye, they would _definitely_ see it — darting eyes which most would dismiss as nervousness would be seen as plotting escape routes and assessing the amount of cover available. Twitching hands, normally perceived as a nervous tick, would be seen as the unconscious triggering of a firearm or holding a knife. The way he talks was another matter, as Rokurou gives nothing away by constantly humbling himself and, to quote him, ‘getting his ass kicked’ by his boss everyday while only showing the minimum amount of effort. And the way he _walked_ —

—it was like a well-trained _predator_ , pretending to be sheep.

The normal people, Okajima Rokurou was just an ordinary and simple Japanese salaryman trying to get through life.

But to the highest echelons of the intelligence community, he was the enigmatic security contractor named “Archer”. The only information that could be unearthed about him was that he was formerly of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Special Forces Group — and for a time, also formerly attached to the United States Army’s 5th Special Forces Group as part of their Military Personnel Exchange program as Japan’s Special Forces representative.

Other than that, no other information could be found about him, which puzzled and frustrated the world’s leading intelligence agencies to no end. For all the world knew, Okajima Rokurou and Archer were two entirely different people. But, to a select few, they knew without a doubt that they were the one and the same.

As Archer, Rokurou had already found damning evidence that would implicate Asahi Industries in having a hand in illegal nuclear proliferation in violation of international law. He also found evidence of bribery of top government officials, money laundering, illegal trafficking of goods, and the list went on.

Most of the information uncovered was usually unavailable to Okajima Rokurou who was just a lowly employee. But as Archer, who had the skills and means to hack the Asahi Industries mainframe while leaving the bare minimum of digital footprints, the company’s dirty laundry was up for grabs and they were all none the wiser.

All the incriminating information was stored on a flash drive in his fanny pack back in his cabin, while the disc that his supervisor had asked for him to deliver to the station chief in Borneo was the one in his shirt pocket. Of course, Rokurou had already duplicated the data stored in the disk onto another flash drive, which contained — surprise, surprise — detailed manufacturing methods for nuclear weapons.

Rokurou scoffed at that. As if Asahi Industries hadn’t given him even more of a reason to completely obliterate the bastards. Being kicked around by stuffy office workers and managers while working there, even undercover, had strained even Rokurou’s own legendary patience.

Now that he was far away from the cesspit that was Asahi Heavy Industries Tokyo Office, Rokurou could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Even if he was on an Asahi Industries ship cruising deep into known territory of pirates, smugglers and traffickers. Oh well, he thought to himself, at least the sights were magnificent, and breeze was relaxing.

He was broken out of his musings by the sound of his earpiece going off, which was connected to his secure ‘working’ phone. Fishing out his phone to check the caller, Rokurou smiled to himself before tapping his earpiece’s button to accept the call. “This is Okajima, how may I help you?” He asked in accented English.

“ _Hey Okajima, it’s Mike from work,”_ Rokurou smirked at the name ‘Mike’. He knew of course who was on the other end of the line, but couldn’t he find a better name than ‘ _Mike’_? “ _Do you have time to talk?”_

Rokurou rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Yes, of course,” he said, casually connecting a scrambler to his phone while he walked to the stern of the ship where the engines were located. The noise from the engines and the sound of the waves would easily muffle his voice. “Line secure, go ahead Scott.”

“ _Line secure on our end as well,”_ Scott Mitchell, leader of Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, replied. “ _How’s your vacation in the South-China Sea going for you? Relaxing?”_

Rokurou could picture the smirk the other man had on his face as he said that. “Har har, very funny Colonel,” he snarked, causing the other man to chuckle. “I’m going crazy just getting cooped up here, but other than that, just peachy!”

“ _Glad to hear that you’re enjoying yourself,”_ Scott replied dryly. “ _Did you get the files we need?”_

“All accounted for,” Rokurou confirmed grimly. “Asahi Industries had fingers in more pies than we thought. They’ve got assets ranging from weapons smuggling to biological weapons development. This is _big_ , Scott. Hope your bosses can see that.”

 _“I’ll believe it when I see it Archer, but I’ve known you long enough to know that you would never exaggerate on a threat,”_ Having worked with the man while on exchange, Scott Mitchell was one of the handful of people who knew that he was Archer. Of course, Rokurou was also part of an even _smaller_ handful of people who knew exactly who, and what group that Mitchell was leading.

After all, he had been part of their ranks for close to 2 years.

 _“Just a heads up, Archer,”_ Rokurou narrowed his eyes at the slight tension he heard in the man’s voice. _“We’ve intercepted comm traffic indicating pirate activity in your immediate AO, part of an effort by the Russian Mafia operating out of Roanapur to cash in on the trade routes run by Asahi Industries subsidiaries. Thought you should know.”_

Rokurou whistled slightly.

He had known that the Russian Mafia out of Roanapur had become a major player in Underworld politics in recent years, currently hustling in on the Chinese Triad in the region. But gunning straight for an industrial megacorporation like Asahi Heavy Industries was ballsy, he’ll give them that. “Balalaika sure doesn’t go for small fry, does she?”

 _“From what the CIA and FSB gathered, as well as from your own reports, I’m inclined to agree,”_ Mitchell replied with slight amusement. _“Whatever the case, once you’ve delivered the intel we need, we’ll have everything we need to bury Asahi Industries for good.”_

Rokurou snorted. “Good riddance for that.”

 _“Agreed,”_ Mitchell concurred. _“Once you can, meet your contact in Roanapur once you’re done in Borneo. He’s Fourth Echelon, so try to play nice with the man, alright?”_

“Right,” Rokurou said dryly. “And I’ll try not to fill him with holes _when_ he gets the drop on me.”

A chuckle was heard. _“Roger that,”_ Mitchell replied. “ _And, as agreed, half a million US Dollars for your services rendered will be channeled into your bank account on completion of the intel transaction. A shame that you retired from career soldiering for private security contractor work. We could’ve used you here with us.”_

Rokurou smiled sadly, although he knew the other man couldn’t see it. He knew that Mitchell still resented the fact that Rokurou had gone mercenary / security contractor rather than continue in the military as Mitchell had done his whole life. But he had his own reasons for doing so.

“I miss the Ghosts as well, you guys were like family to me,” The raven-haired Japanese man could almost see the perpetual frown on Mitchell’s face. “But you know I’ll be chafing under all the red tape sooner or later, regardless of the Ghosts having what amounts to a literal ‘license to kill’. I’m sorry Boss, but that’s not my life.”

There was a pause.

 _“Understood,”_ Mitchell replied. _“You were always too stubborn for your own good, and I have Diaz here to compare it to!”_

Rokurou laughed at that. “You may come to regret that Colonel, ‘cuz I might join a mercenary outfit just to piss you off,” he replied, earning loud grunt from the other end that set him off into a laughing fit once more. “But seriously though, that might be what I’ll be doing for a while after this; joining a decent merc unit — not the bloodthirsty war junkies, but proper ones — sounds reasonable.”

Mitchell could be heard sighing on the other end, clearly unenthused. _“I’ll believe it when I see it, Archer.”_ He sounded unamused, as expected of an old soldier like him. _“You take care of yourself out there, Archer. Mitchell out.”_

Rokurou smiled as he cut the connection and disconnected the scrambler. Just another day on the job for him as a highly sought-after private security contractor. Now, all he had to do was sit tight and enjoy the weather.

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

It was 4 days after Mitchell’s call that Rokurou’s phone started vibrating from an incoming message. He was standing on the deck and leaning on the railing again, but with all his belongings on his person, including his fanny pack which had all his passports, spare clothes and cash for the journey. Although without any firearms, he had on his trusty Gerber MK II combat knife in a holster near his right ankle.

Flipping open his phone, Rokurou frowned at the message displayed prominently over his screen.

**Pirates en-route to your location. Information disc most likely target. Caution is advised.**

Double checking the disc still in his shirt pocket, Rokurou only had a moment to collect himself and put away his cellphone before the sounds of gunfire could be heard from the front of the ship. _‘Shit, they’re already here,’_ he thought sardonically. _‘Hurray for a multi-million-dollar intelligence service warning me just **seconds** away from making contact! Fantastic!’_

Hearing more shots, most likely from a high-powered pistol if the sound was correct, Rokurou stuck close to the walls and moved up to where he heard the gunshots. Discretely peering over the edge of the wall, he saw that the crew of the Melanesia Maru had already been rounded up and were laying face first on the deck with their hands behind their heads.

And standing over them was a tall, bald black man with sunglasses wearing green combat fatigues, flak jacket, and combat boots while brandishing what looked like a .357 Magnum at them. Before Rokurou could make out the words that the man was saying to the crew, he heard soft footsteps from behind him.

Taking a second’s moment to decide, Rokurou decided to play dumb and act the part of a scared crewman, raising his arms in surrender just as the footsteps materialized into what he could only describe as the sexiest — and deadliest — woman he had ever laid his eyes upon.

Plum-colored, roughly mid-shoulder length hair tied into a ponytail with a few bangs loose over her forehead. Her physique from what Rokurou could tell was very fit, and with curves in all the right places covered in tight black crop top with Denim shorts that left very little to the imagination but still covered enough to want more. Her whole assemble was topped off with a pair of combat boots, a tribal-like tattoo on her right arm up till her shoulders and a pair of shoulder pistol holsters for her twin pistols that she was _aiming at him right now!_

Her hair framed a heart-shaped face and amber-colored eyes that glared at him with a hint of malice and madness, while her plump lips were pulled into a sneer that was currently directed at him.

Rokurou could only sigh at his own observation. _‘Why does all the hot ones have to be deadly or crazy?’_ he thought to himself, thinking of Alicia Diaz from the Ghosts.

“Going somewhere, asshole?” he heard the woman snarl. “Hey Dutch! We got another one!”

The black man Rokurou assumed was Dutch nodded. “Great, round him up with the rest.” The man turned to aim his gun at him. “Alright, here’s the deal, Mr. Japanese — we’re looking for a package from Asahi Industries Headquarters that was scheduled to be shipped out to Borneo. You look important — where is it?”

Rokurou stared at the revolver pointed at him, while feeling the pistol from the woman dig into the back of his skull. Analyzing his surroundings, a plan rapidly began to form in his mind as he subtly positioned himself. “I don’t know, maybe.” He deflected, slightly enjoying to annoyance building up in the black man’s posture. “What do you want with it then?”

He felt the pistol dig harder into the back of his skull. He smirked to himself — clearly, the woman wasn’t amused. “Listen here, you dipshit! Unless you wanna die—!”

Rokurou took a deep breath—

—before he snapped his hand out towards the revolver in front of him, knocking it to the side before he ducked as he swept his leg behind him at the woman’s legs, knocking her off her feet. A split second later Rokurou stood as he saw Dutch quickly reorient himself for a shot at him, only for the man to grunt in surprise at Rokurou yanking his gun hand with his own hands sideways, causing it to shoot into the walls as it fired.

Quickly ducking the large fist from the black man who had freed one of his hands to do so, Rokurou reared his head back before headbutting the man in the face, causing him to grunt in pain before Rokurou followed up with several quick jabs into the man’s midsection. Trapping one of the man’s arms in his hold, and despite being bigger and heavier than him, Rokurou executed a clean shoulder throw which threw the man onto the deck with a pained grunt.

He ducked just as the woman began firing at him with her dual pistols, a look of complete murder on her face.

Knowing that any hesitation on his part was going to get him a bullet to the side, Rokurou charged the distance between him and the woman who was sneering at his reckless charge into gunfire only to widen her eyes in shock as Rokurou effortlessly dodged every single one of her shots before he shoulder tackled her, throwing off her aim before he disarmed both of her pistols by knocking it painfully from her hands as they clattered noisily down onto the deck. He then quickly grabbed the punch that was aimed at him before using the woman’s forward momentum to throw her into the man named Dutch who had just managed to get on his feet, crashing into one another in a heap.

Rokurou did a mental calculation before nodding to himself. He had just accomplished all of that in less than 2 minutes — acceptable, even with his sluggishness due to tedium.

 _‘Well, for pirates they’ve got skills_ — _unusually skilled even,’_ Rokurou thought to himself as he watched the two pirates reorient themselves rather quickly. Normal schmucks wouldn’t have been able to get back up after the thrashing he just gave them, and that said a lot about these pirates. _‘Probably ex-military or paramilitary, either which. Better get this fight away from the crew_ — _less collateral that way.’_

“I’m sorry about this!” He began cheerfully, earning a burning death glare from the sex—ahem! _Deadly_ woman in front of him who was struggling to untangle herself from her partner. “But I don’t much like guns getting pointed in my face, thank you very much!”

And with that, he bolted to the aft of the ship as another plan formed in his mind.

Staying in the shaded parts of the Malenesia Maru, Rokurou deftly climbed up the superstructure of the ship, keeping his footfalls as silent as he could just as the ‘Ghosts’ had taught him. Perching on top of the cabin superstructure in front of the bridge, he had a clear view of the pirates — as well as their transport, some kind of PT boat by the looks of the torpedoes — getting up and start searching for him.

As well as the woman’s curses.

“That’s it!” He heard the woman yell. “That fucker is going to _DIE!_ I don’t care whether he has that disc or not! I’m gonna rip his balls off and shove it so far up his ass he’s going to _taste it_ coming out from his mouth!”

 _Ouch_.

Rokurou winced wryly. Even _Diaz_ hadn’t been as pissed at him when he had replaced her shampoo with orange hair dye as a prank. And boy, does that woman had a mouth on her, which coincidentally made her even more attractive in his eyes. Make’s him wonder if he was an understated masochist if his preference in women were of that kind to begin with.

Rokurou overheard the black man’s response. “Things just got a whole lot more complicated,” Rokurou noticed the man checking his surroundings. “Bastard’s got some serious skills — makes you wonder what Asahi Industries has been doing when they had to send _that kind_ of guy as the courier.”

Watching them from his perch as they systematically searched through every passageway and bulkhead, covering each other’s backs as they swept their weapons left and right with textbook precision that surprised him, and it made Rokurou’s earlier assumptions come to mind; that they were ex-military or military-esque trained at the very least.

Silently dropping down to the deck, Rokurou crept to the place where he had the best approach for an ambush, keeping his back flat against the bulkheads and to the shadows to minimize detection. The passageway was darkened and narrow with both ends opened to the breeze leading to the sides of the ship, with only one passageway leading down the middle from the front of the ship where he last saw the pirates moving into. He waited a moment and as expected, he watched as the pirate duo emerge from the passageway, weapons sweeping left and right.

They were about to move on and continue their search when he pounced.

Hearing movement, the duo turned to him and tried to get a shot off, but Rokurou had already closed the distance and caught both of the man’s arms in a lock — who was closest to his hiding place — redirected his aim skywards before forcing enough pressure into the joints and the man was forced to let go of his revolver. Catching it with his right foot, Rokurou kicked the revolver high into the air just as he threw the man over his shoulder into the bulkhead beside him.

What could he say? All kinds of throws were very effective incapacitation moves.

The woman fired both her guns with a vengeance, surprising him with how accurate they were despite firing akimbo. Running at her now, he dodged the bullets using the superstructure railings on top of the passageways to parkour over by essentially ‘wall-running’ his way over to her before diving under her spread legs as he slid under her.

The woman barely allowed such an insane maneuver to shock her however as she spun around to greet him with her bullets. Rokurou managed to get on his feet just as she spun around to clamp his hands on her pistols, before he jump-kicked her in the midsection while disarming her of her weapons.

Quickly emptying the bullets from the pistols, he threw them back to her just as the revolver he had kicked into the air landed in his hand, the weapon now trained on their former users — just as he had planned.

Rokurou grinned as he patted himself on the back. _‘I still got it.’_

“Well, that’s not very nice,” He chastised in accented English, watching his former victims get on their feet. “I told you before that I don’t like guns being shoved in my face, and what did you do? You guys did _exactly_ that — why does everyone keep _doing_ that even when I told them not to?”

The woman, still glaring daggers at him, flipped him off. “Piss off, dipshit!”

“Revy!” the man — Dutch — bellowed. “Enough! We’ve been had, and he’s got a gun pointed at us, so keep it _cool_!”

The woman — Revy — just grumbled while still giving Rokurou the stink eye, still clearly pissed.

Rokurou raised an eyebrow at the byplay. That was interesting — _intelligent_ pirates. Now there’s something you don’t see every day. They were as rare as an honest politician in this day and age. It was honestly refreshing — most pirates just keep fighting until they die, even when outmatched.

“Now, it’s my turn to ask the questions,” Rokurou’s tone was light, but they could clearly see that his dark brown eyes were as hard as polished diamonds. “Why do you need the disc for? It’s supposed to be private company information.”

He knew he was regurgitating the established Asahi Industries company line, but he needed to see who else was on the board for the intel on the disc.

“Our client got wind of it through one of their contacts in Jakarta,” Dutch replied, nursing the light bruises forming on his lower back. “They hired us to retrieve it from the company representative who was scheduled to pass through here on a company ship. You the man they sent?”

Rokurou nodded, pleasantly surprised. Courteous pirates? What sort of loopy land had he stumbled into?

“Yes, that’s me,” He confirmed. “But that’s only part of the reason I was sent.”

Revy, who was retrieving her guns from the deck, snorted. “Oh yeah, what are you — a spy?”

“Something like that.” His reply was flat, earning two incredulous stares that made him laugh inwardly. Sighing to himself, he fished the disc from his shirt pocket. He already had a copy of it so there’s no harm to it. “I was hired to investigate the company’s shady business deals that violate international law, and I was on my way to Roanapur after the stop at Borneo to meet my contact there.”

“Wait — you’re fucking serious aren’t you?” Revy asked, a stunned look on her face which made her look quite fetching.

_‘Focus, damn it!’_

Rokurou nodded. “As a heart attack,” He looked down at the disc in his hand, then tossed it at Dutch who caught it effortlessly. “There, the disc’s all yours — I’ve already made a copy of it to send to my client, so you can have it.”

He then spun the .357 Magnum in his hands, popping out the cylinder and emptying the rounds in his hand before popping back in again. He spun the revolver once more before holding it out handle first to Dutch who warily stepped forward to retrieve his weapon.

“It’s a good weapon you got there, make sure you don’t lose it,” He handed the man back the weapon, as well as the emptied ammo. “Haven’t seen a .357 Magnum in such mint condition — what a masterpiece.”

Dutch nodded as he holstered his weapon. “Never left home without it,” He was clearly still wary of the supposed Japanese salaryman. “So, are we done?”

“Yeah, we’re done,” Rokurou replied, holding up his hand when Dutch was about to speak. “Unless you do something for me first — how much are you getting paid for this job?”

Seeing Revy about to go off on the Japanese man, Dutch beat her to it. “Twenty-grand.”

Rokurou nodded, slightly put off by the low payment but he digressed. They were obviously expecting an easy job out of this. It was just their bad luck that they got _him_ in exchange. “Tell you what, I’ll throw in fifty-grand as a deposit for taking me to Roanapur for the hassle. Obviously you were expecting somebody different,” His dry response earning a death glare from Revy and a nod from Dutch. “After we reach Roanapur, I’ll throw in another fifty for services rendered. Sound good to you guys?”

Revy looked like she was about to explode in a cloud of nuclear fallout, and Rokurou could imagine her spitting nails if she could. But, as pirates, she couldn’t — wouldn’t — pass up on a chance for such a big pay day. Dutch was nodding as well but was still suspicious.

“How do we know you won’t overpower us and hijack our ship?” Dutch asked, making Rokurou tilt his head curiously. “As you have shown us — we’re no match in close-quarters against you, weapon or not.”

Rokurou sighed. “If it makes you feel better, you can settle me in your brig as a hostage,” He suggested, shrugging at the look he received from them. “I have no quarrel with you guys, and I don’t fancy continuing our little brawl any more than you do.”

While Revy looked like she still wanted to explode, Dutch only sighed tiredly before he nodded, gesturing for Rokurou to follow them to their boat. On closer inspection, the Japanese man could see that it was an Elco-type PT Boat from World War II, stripped of its machine guns but still retaining its four torpedo tubes.

As they boarded, the boat, Rokurou could hear them talking as Revy, having reloaded her guns, brought up the rear.

“If he tries anything, I’ll drop him quick.” She snarled.

Rokurou looked back at her with a smirk and a wink before ducking inside the boat, missing the tick mark forming on the woman’s head and a string of curses that would make a sailor blush.

He laughed to himself as they got underway. Things were about to get _really_ interesting.

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

“What d’ya got for me Benny-boy?” Dutch asked a few hours later while en-route to Roanapur.

The resident geek and computer expert wearing a Hawaiian shirt with blonde hair and glasses with grey eyes was typing away at his computer for the past few hours trying to find any information of their ‘guest’.

“Working on it,” Benny began, taking a sip of water from his canteen as he scrolled through his data feeds. “The guy’s name is Okajima Rokurou. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan to a well-to-do family and has an older brother working in the Japanese government. No records of wrong-doing or anything that would indicate any psychological trauma growing up. Completely unremarkable in every way, unless you count that he joined Asahi Heavy Industries only 6 months ago.”

Dutch frowned as he cleaned his sunglasses with a cloth. “Something’s not right about this,” He said. “If he’s as unremarkable as you say, then explain to me how he got the drop on us on that cruise liner, then proceeded to wipe to floor with us without breaking a sweat. I know those CQC moves — aikido, jujitsu and Krav Maga to name a few. He dodged bullets as good as Revy in a shootout!”

“Did not!” Revy denied from her place leaning on the doorframe leading into the computer room. “I’m still better than the fucker!”

Dutch sighed. “Anyone even _close_ to your skill is a threat worth noting, Revy.”

Revy could only nod, grudgingly admitting the fact that Mr. Japanese — Okajima Rokurou — was _good_. Too good for a supposed Japanese salaryman was expected to be. She couldn’t remember a time when someone charged into her guns without getting hit while simultaneously taking her out in close quarters.

Benny did more searches, only come up to a problem as several alarms sounded on his computer. “Uh oh, I think I just found out why Mr. Japanese has such an ordinary background,” He rapidly hacked and re-hacked into the information mainframe. “His personal data are all locked behind some impressive firewalls — I would’ve expected something like this whilst breaking into the _Pentagon_!”

 _That_ got their attention. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me, Benny!” Revy exclaimed, leaning off the doorframe to join her team at looking at the screen. “Either he’s very good at hiding his tracks, or someone else is helping him hide!”

“Makes sense,” Dutch nodded. “Makes you wonder what his credentials are with that kind of security on his personal details.”

“Well, whatever the case, I can’t crack these walls,” Benny declared, shutting down his system for a hard reboot while he scrambled his IP address. “Anymore and I might trigger a security reaction or virus that would fry my systems. If we want to know about him, we’ve got to straight up ask him about it and hope to God that he comes clean with us. Doubtful though.”

This information gave the Lagoon Trading Company something to think about on the way back.

In the hold of the PT boat which had been jury rigged into a temporary brig, Rokurou hummed a tune to himself as a pair of handcuffs they had slapped on him lay opened on the floor in front of him, his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling.

He couldn’t place, but there was something different about this group of pirates that he had unintentionally ran into here in the South-China Sea. From what he had learned, Dutch was the leader while Revy was the gunslinger of the group of pirates. As he came in, he took note of another member of the crew who looked out of place in a ship of pirates. While Dutch and Revy had this tough and seasoned about them, this Benny guy was most probably to most normal person in the group, which intrigued Rokurou to no end.

Of course, he had understood when Benny had announced he will be monitoring radio-traffic and the radar for any threats.

And now, they were on the way to Roanapur, ‘City of Thieves’, ‘City of the Dead’, and the list went on with the most derogative terms to describe the hellhole of debauchery and murder that was Roanapur.

 _‘Well, not the first time I’ve been in that shithole,’_ Rokurou thought to himself. _‘But I guess fate wants me to put some roots down there to pass my time before the next big operation. I think I might join these guys_ — _they seem like a fun bunch.’_

Of course, the deadly eye-candy was a bonus as well.

 _‘KAMI DAMN IT, ROKUROU!’_ He yelled inwardly at himself, thumping the back of his head on the bulkhead. _‘You really **are** a masochist if you find those kinds of women sexy as hell!’_

He let his head drop as a cloud of depression formed over his head. He might’ve been more broken than he initially thought.

Kami knows what fresh mess from Hell would come knocking on his door in the future…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Done!
> 
> A new crossover story, and the first for me, in the Black Lagoon universe, crossed with Ghost Recon / Clancy-verse! Take it easy on me okay? I have not abandoned my other stories for this one, the advice that I was given was to try writing other stories while trying to unclog my brain. So, this was the result.
> 
> I hope I got Rock’s characterization right for this story. He is an experienced soldier / security contractor / mercenary with a code of honor and despite being immersed in the blood and shit of his working life, it hadn’t contaminated him as severely as others of the trade, which puzzles a certain gunslinger to no end.
> 
> As per usual, I make it pretty obvious who the pairings are going to be, and I won’t put it in the tag lines until they become official. Curel of me, keeping you all in suspense, but its for the sake of my story!
> 
> This is HEIROFROHAN signing off,
> 
> PEACE!!


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Roanapur, Ghost! Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Foreword: I do not own Black Lagoon or some elements of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell series. They belong to Rei Hiroe and Ubisoft Entertainment respectively.

**Chapter 2: Welcome to Roanapur, Ghost! Part 2**

_“I don’t have to pay for my dirty work to get done for me — I’ll do it myself.”_

_\- Ted Nugent_

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

Rokurou looked up as he heard the engines winding down, followed by the door opening to reveal Revy in all her gun-toting glory. Which meant that they had arrived at Roanapur. Terrific.

“Let’s go, dipshit.” She said, gesturing with her pistol for him to head out the door. “Try anything and I’ll fucking end you.”

Rokurou only smiled at her, earning a twitching eyebrow from the woman. “Never dreamed of it.”

With a muttered ‘smartass’ under her breath, she led him out onto the pier where the PT boat, which Rokurou had found out it was named the ‘Black Lagoon’, had docked and he could see the lights of the city in the distance. The smell of the stink of the city hadn’t changed too, but that was all part of Roanapur’s ‘charm’ — being the asshole of the world.

After getting off, Rokurou reached for his fanny pack while being watched by Revy to withdraw several stacks of cash which he passed it to Dutch, who counted it and confirmed the easy transaction with a nod of thanks. Rokurou promised the other fifty-grand after he had met his contact here in Roanapur.

“I’ll hold you to that, Rock.” Dutch replied, earning a raised eyebrow from Rokurou at his newly acquired nickname. “As thanks, how would you like to join us for a drink at Yellow Flags bar? Drinks are on me.”

The newly named Rock nodded. “Sure, sounds pleasant. I wasn’t planning on finding anyone till after I got settled in here,” He turned to look at the disembarking Benny. “So… Rock?”

Dutch shrugged. “It’s easier than saying Rokurou all the time.”

“Touché,” Rock agreed, chiding himself for having never thought of it until now. Then another thought hit him. “But wasn’t Yellow Flags destroyed in a shootout last year? I’ve heard the damage was pretty bad.”

To his surprise, Dutch and Benny _laughed_ while Revy looked like she had swallowed a lemon. Rock raised an eyebrow at that — there had to be a story right there.

Dutch chuckled. “Revy got into a fight with a group of drug traffickers who wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“And she took umbrage to that and filled them with bullets?” Rock predicted wryly.

“And she filled them with bullets.”

Rock chuckled. “I wouldn’t have guessed!”

“Watch it, dirt bag!” Revy hissed, pointing her gun at his direction. “Keep laughing and I’ll kill you. _Slowly._ ”

Rock held up his hands in surrender, amusement twinkling in his brown eyes. “Gotcha.”

As they piled into Dutch’s red 1970 American Dodge Charger, Rock and Revy sat in the backseat before they drove off, with Revy electing to sit as far away as possible from the raven-haired Japanese man who looked out the window to see Roanapur’s night life. Neon signs, prostitutes, beggars and drug users as far as the eye could see. Yup, this was Roanapur alright.

As they drove to their destination, Benny decided to strike up a conversation. “So Rock,” he began, getting Rock’s attention. “What brings you to the ass end of the world?”

Rock smiled. “Work.”

“What kind?”

The question had come from Revy, who was still giving him a stink eye. Seeing no harm in telling them, he replied.

“A Japanese salaryman working for Asahi Industries—”

“Bullshit!” interrupted Revy as she drew her gun on him.

“—officially that is,” Rock continued, smiling at the gun pointed at the middle of his head. Revy was pissed that it didn’t even phase him. “Unofficially, I’m a private security contractor working undercover in Asahi Industries to ascertain and collect any evidence that supports that the company has violated international law.”

There was silence in the car for a moment.

“… so that explains the skills you’ve shown on the ship,” Dutch replied. “You sure don’t look the type. No offence, but you’re dressed too much like a typical businessman to take you seriously if you haven’t already kicked our asses.”

Rock shrugged. “It’s part of my cover,” He straightened out his shirt and tie for emphasis. “And hey — I kind of like it!”

“You’re crazy, you know that dipshit?” Revy sighed, putting away her pistols. “Only someone with a screw loose in their heads would say something like that with a straight face.”

Rock smirked. Oh, she just walked right into that one. “Pot, meet kettle.”

“You wanna _die_ , fucker?!”

Benny and Dutch just sighed as Revy continued her death threats to Rock while the man just parried her barbs like he dodged bullets, which was impressive as they had never seen Revy as engaged in a conversation (read, shouting match) as she did now, and they wondering if she was still in awe or attracted to the Japanese man, even though they knew she would never admit it.

Revy would never admit, not even to herself, that she found the Japanese man to be _interesting_. At first, she had been pissed and hated the man for getting the drop on her, _twice_ , before it finally settled to a sort of admiration at the skills he possessed to keep up with her, the infamous Revy “Two-Hands”. Not only did he keep up with her, he actually _bested_ her — her _and_ Dutch, at the same time.

She couldn’t miss the way his muscles tensed powerfully in preparation for close quarters combat on that ship, nor could she miss the way his toned body responded to his will by instinct to any danger aimed at it. If she wasn’t in her serious combat mode, she would’ve gawked at the way Rock effortlessly dodged _every single one_ of her shots as if he were dancing, and she was the best shot in Roanapur by far!

And the man wasn’t even half bad to look at either — raven dark hair swept with bangs to one side and intelligent brown eyes that seemed to bore into her soul. Strong chin and defined cheekbones clear of scars of any kind. Like Dutch had said, if he hadn’t kicked their butts so thoroughly, she wouldn’t have pegged him to be some sort of badass security contractor.

Revy finally tapered off after having exhausted her barbs at Rock, who hadn’t lost the small smile he had on his face, as though he was _enjoying_ their little banter. What a pain in the ass, she thought to herself as she settled in for the rest of the ride, left to her own emotions.

Benny finally found a place to park the car before they all got out to enter the establishment. Rock stopped to look at the bright neon signs that read “Yellow Flags”, noting the old bullet holes and shrapnel from previous ‘disagreements’ littered throughout the bar, and this was just the outside!

Entering the building, Rock was assaulted with the familiar smells of alcohol, gunpowder, and cigarette smoke. There were also smells of cheap perfumes used by the various hookers sitting around the tables or in the laps of their client for the night. There were also several fistfights going on sporadically around the place, with patrons placing their bets on who would win while others kept complaining about the noise or some other disagreement.

One thing was common among the tables however — there was at least one pistol placed on each table, as if the patrons were expecting a gunfight to break out at any moment.

On second thought, perhaps they were expecting one. This _was_ Roanapur after all.

Rock hummed as the four of them got settled on the stools at the bar, with Revy snarking at the owner who commented about how she was here and how she still owed him for the last time the bar got thrashed. He chuckled lowly at the glare Revy shot the owner named Bao at that.

“Oh, you’ve brought a new face with you,” Bao asked with a noticeable Vietnamese accent. “That’s new, even for you guys — what d’ya want?”

Rock thought about it, seeing Revy order Bacardi rum before turning back to Bao. “I’ll have what she’s having, please.”

“Coming right up.”

After serving up the rum, Rock took a few experimental sips before sighing at the pleasant buzz going down his throat. Deciding to just knock one back, he gestured for Bao to refill it before turning to Dutch who had just watched him knock back his drink.

“What?” Rock asked, slightly confused.

Dutch shook his head. “Nothing, at least your taste is good.”

“Right…” Rock drawled, putting the man’s odd behavior aside for now. “So, what’s the deal with this place? It’s got the feel of ‘the bar at the end of the world’ you see in western movies.”

Dutch nodded. “Well you wouldn’t be wrong,” He said. “This place was started by South Vietnamese soldiers who fled or survived the Vietnam War. But then they also started taking in fugitive soldiers as well, and before you know it, this place just went straight to hell.”

He turned back towards his drink, taking a sip of it as Rock did the same. “Hookers, junkies, mercenaries, hitmen… irredeemable criminals, the lot of them.” He smirked at him. “Making you uncomfortable?”

Rock snorted at that. What did they take him for, even after getting their butts handed to them?

“No, not all. Just interested in the history of it, that’s all,” Rock replied with a chuckle. “Trust me, it takes a lot for me to get uncomfortable in places like this. The last time something made me uncomfortable was back in Afghanistan in ’08. Now _that_ was nasty business…”

The rest of the Lagoon Company noted something dark that flashed just a few seconds over Rock’s face before it was gone, with Revy knocking back her own drink at the uneasy feeling she was getting from that brief look — it was just _so damned familiar_.

She never would’ve guessed the lighthearted man who had kicked their butts might have a dark side to him. Ever since they met Rock had been a walking contradiction; how could someone be as polite and cheerful as he was be the same man who had the skills of an experienced mercenary? Normally she’d expected him to be like the rest of them — hard, cynical and brutal, rotten right down to the core.

But, from what Revy could see, he had managed to keep that part of his sanity and humanity alive despite his job. Deep inside her, behind the cynical bitchy and bloodthirsty Two-Hands personas, there was a part of Revy that was extremely jealous at the man for keeping something she had lost almost as soon as she was born.

Dutch cleared his throat before he stood up to excuse himself to make a phone call out back. With only Benny and Revy to talk to, Rock turned to the resident computer expert. “So, what’s your story?” he asked. “You seem different than the rest of the shit in the city.”

“Mine?” Benny chuckled as he swirled his glass. “Well, I was studying at the University of Florida, fooled around too much and got into trouble with the FBI and the Mafia. Then I came here to hide almost 2 years ago—”

“—and I saved his ass from being thrown overboard in a suitcase,” Revy finished with a smirk. “Enough with the lame storytelling, we’re here to drink aren’t we? You’re not old enough to be reminiscing about the past, Benny.” She poured more rum for herself. “One for you, one for me~” she sang.

Rock shook his head at the woman. “Fair enough, let’s,” he said. “And the next round is on me — just to sooth your bruised ego back on that ship you found me on.”

“Hah,” Revy barked out a laugh, sneering at him as she did. “I’ll take the booze, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fill you with lead either!”

Rock just laughed at the death glare she threw his way, with Benny shaking his head in amusement at the byplay.

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

At a back alley behind Yellow Flags, Dutch was using a payphone out of hearing range of anyone nearby. Just in case, he had his revolver ready to go to stave off any curious onlookers.

“Yeah? No shit?” He said into the phone. “That can’t be good — go on.”

 _“I didn’t trust Asahi Industries’ response,”_ a woman’s voice with a cultured Russian-accent said. _“So, I left out some bait and a Chinese rat went right for it. In fact, I’m talking to him now…”_

Dutch cursed inwardly. “Who’s on the move?”

 _“One moment,”_ Dutch heard the distinct squelching sounds of someone stepping on an open wound, followed by a man’s scream of agony. _“Tell me your owner’s name, loud and clear.”_

 _“S-Shingian!”_ the tortured man howled. _“Sh-Shingian’s Wan Taikei! Wan Taikei sent assassins to assassinate you! He sent assassins to Roanapur!”_

The woman was back on the line. _“Hear that?”_

“Yeah,” Dutch confirmed. “Not good.”

 _“Tell me the number and affiliation of those soldiers,”_ the woman demanded the tortured man. Her tone held a slight trace of anger in it. _“Speak up! Hurry, we’re busy people.”_

The tortured man howled from another beating. _“Men contracted from E-Extra Order, a mercenary c-contracting a-agency!”_ He confessed painfully. _“I don’t know how many there are!”_

 _“The E.O. Company scouts experienced war junkies,”_ the woman elaborated, and Dutch heard sounds of weapons charging in the background. _“They have the experience and the equipment to back it up.”_

Dutch sighed. “Yeah, what rotten luck…”

 _“You said it,”_ she replied before the sounds of guns going off in the background was heard. _“Watch yourselves out there. And Dutch?”_

“Yeah?”

The woman hummed. _“That Japonski you picked up from Asahi Industries… has he given you any trouble?”_

Dutch wondered what he could say to her before deciding to be truthful. “To be perfectly honest?” he asked. “We’re glad we’re still alive and kicking.”

The was silence on the other end of the line before the woman could be heard chuckling in amusement. “ _Bring him to me when you make the rendezvous,”_ she requested. _“I have my suspicions about him, and I want to make sure if they’re true.”_

Before he could ask what she meant, the woman disconnected the call, making Dutch wonder if the woman knew more than she let on.

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

Back at the bar, the atmosphere was still as lively as ever. Between the two of them, Revy and Rock had polished off 4 bottles of rum and it looked like they weren’t stopping anytime soon.

As Rock was about to pour himself another shot — he learned a long time ago that his alcohol tolerance was off the charts — when his gut instinct screamed at him about imminent danger.

Knowing to always trust those instincts, Rock looked over his shoulder and time seemed to slow to crawl as several round metal objects came flying into the establishment.

It took him a moment to realize that they were grenades, and another moment to grab Benny before pulling him behind the bar counter. Revy was already moving, her drink never once leaving her hand.

And then pandemonium erupted around them.

Once the explosions of the grenades died down and the lights went out, full-automatic gunfire came streaking through the windows from the outside, killing anyone not dead from the explosions.

His mind in overdrive and combat mode, Rock carefully peered around the surprisingly sturdy bar as bullets came flying in, ricocheting off the walls and the counter as he analyzed their opposition.

If this was a common occurrence, it explained the unpatched bullets holes in the walls of the bar.

Despite the low lighting, Rock could easily make out the muzzle flashes coming from the outside. During his training with the ‘Ghosts’, he was trained to identify all threats and the number of OpFor just by using his eyesight in pitch black darkness without any equipment. A low lighting environment was a walk in a park for him.

“Revy!” Bao was yelling over the gunfire. “If they’re your friends, you go and deal with them!”

“I don’t know them.” Revy casually sipped her drink. In any other situation, Rock would’ve been laughing at the incredulous expression on the bartender’s face.

Several rounds bounced off the counter once more, causing even Revy to look impressed.

“Wow,” she commented. “You’ve bulletproofed the bar.”

Bao’s expression was smug, holding up a pump-action shotgun in his hands. “It can handle up to a .50 caliber round, no sweat!”

Rock finally finished his head count of the enemy just as he heard Dutch yell out for them.

“Revy?!” He called.

Revy sipped her drink. “I’m alive!”

“Benny?!”

Rock turned to give him the go ahead at the lapse in firing, which Benny acknowledged before darting towards where Rock assumed Dutch was taking cover. “Miraculously, I’m alive!”

“What about Rock?!”

Rock was about to answer when he spied a pistol and a few clips of ammunition under the bar. Making a mental apology and to repay the bartender later, he swiped it while placing the magazines in his belt and pocket. Checking it over, he noticed that it was a Browning Hi-Power chambered for 9 mm Parabellum rounds.

Loading and charging the weapon while getting the feel of the weapon, he nodded to himself.

“I’m here!” Rock called out, pulling out his Gerber MK II and holding it special forces style in his left hand in conjunction with his pistol. “Partially deaf, but I’m fine!”

Revy looked up after having finally finishing her drink, already in the process of loading her pistols. Eyeing Rock’s weapons of choice, she couldn’t help but grin.

“You dipshit!” The look on her face was pulled into a half-grin, half-glare. “You could’ve used the knife on us back onboard the ship, didn’t you?! You were _holding back_ on us?!”

Rock could hear the indignation in her voice, and he couldn’t help but be amused. “Well yeah, I needed to give you guys a chance!” He snarked, deciding to humor her. This earned him a glare in response. “Besides, if I was trying to kill you guys, I would’ve used it back then!”

Revy just glared at him, but Rock could see the dark humor in her amber orbs that honestly tickled his insides.

Another explosion from a grenade went off, causing them to duck for cover to ride out the explosion.

“Revy!” they heard Dutch yell. “Time to show these amateurs why you’re known as ‘Two-Hands’!”

Rock watched as Revy narrowed her eyes and a smirk started gracing her lips. He had already had her pegged as gun-crazy, and he was right once more.

“Revy!” he yelled just as the shooting stopped.

When the woman looked his way with a frown, he held up two fingers first then he held up four. Rock then pointed at her, then at himself before he did a splitting motion with his hands while gesturing slightly to the left and the right of the bar. He then did a thumbs up while swaying it side-to-side as if he was asking a question with his hands.

She frowned in confusion before her eyes widened in understanding at what Rock was trying to say. ‘ _There are 24 hostiles. You and me, split the numbers between the left and right of the bar. You ready?’_ she translated in her mind, thankful for all of Dutch’s lessons on hand signals.

Rock punctuated his statement with a challenging grin, which was soon mirrored on her own as she nodded in agreement. Despite still feeling sore about the beating they got on that ship, Revy couldn’t wait to see how the new guy stacked up in a mano a mano gunfight!

She was giddy just thinking about it!

“Secure the building,” the ringleader was heard ordering. “I heard voices.”

Peering around the counter, Rock spotted the blonde-haired ponytailed man in round sunglasses with scar running down his face hefting a pistol and an assault rifle in each hand. _‘So impractical,’_ Rock couldn’t help but grouse. _‘His aim must be atrocious_ — _it only works in movies! Dumbass.’_

“And there’s nothing I hate more than _survivors!_ ” the leader crowed.

Rock sighed at the cliché way the man delivered the line, earning a grin from Revy who heard his sigh. She winked at him, causing him blink before she spoke.

“What a great line…” Rock could only roll his eyes skyward while Revy silently chortled.

Holding up his fingers, Rock counted down for Revy to move, starting from 4, 3, 2, 1 …and, _go!_

The mercs had no time to react as Rock emerged from the right side of the bar counter with his gun up, while Revy leapt _over_ the bar with her guns pointed squarely at the poor bloody infantry in her sights.

Gunshots rang out simultaneously from the gun totting duo as chaos reigned over the bar once again.

Revy spotted her first two targets, shooting them dead before evading return fire from the right side of the room as she focused her fire left. Hearing gunshots from the right side, she assumed that Rock was doing his thing while she _enjoyed_ hers!

Flipping over the bullets, Revy sighted her next two victims before killing them while still upside down. Getting to her feet, jumped over her next target, who never had a chance to bring his rifles to bear before she shot him in the chest just as she landed on his corpse. She then started running back to the counter for cover and a reload as Dutch covered her escape with his revolver registering over the din.

“Got ‘em, Dutch!” she cried as she landed back beside Bao, who was screaming at her for destroying his bar _yet again_.

Revy didn’t pay much attention to him however as she was much more interested in what Rock was up to on his end. She wouldn’t be disappointed — much — if he was dead but judging by how there were still screams and gunfire from that end of the room, she assumed that he must still be kicking.

Peering over the cover, Revy finally allowed herself a rare moment of flabbergasted surprise to wash over her.

 _‘Holy fucking **shit** , what did I just miss?!’ _she thought in astonishment. _‘Even **I** couldn’t take that many at once without reloading and taking cover! What the fuck?!’_

Rewinding back to when the fight started, Rock dropped his first two targets with two clean shots to the torso and one in the head for each man. Running forward to his next target, he jammed his knife into the ejector of the merc’s rifle before pulling the man forward, making him drop his rifle just as Rock released his knife from the ejector then stabbed it into the man’s shoulder. As the man screamed, Rock wrapped the merc in a lock to his front and used him as a human shield, his pistol barking away at the next three targets who went down with precisely three bullets each.

Now empty, he pushed forward using his improvised ‘shield’, which was taking quite a pounding as its former comrades filled it with holes. Reloading as he went, Rock managed to slap a fresh magazine into his pistol just in time for his ‘shield’ to expire. Throwing the dead weight at its former comrades who frantically ducked away, Rock evaded a rifle butt from his left while jabbing his knife into an assailant that came from the right, causing him to howl in pain before a knife to his throat silenced him.

Moving fluidly, Rock grabbed the assailant on the left’s rifle just as he was bringing it to bear at the Japanese man, locking it with his left armpit while tilting his head to dodge the man’s left punch, who had released it to attack him, while simultaneously using the punch’s momentum to cock his pistol in his right hand on the assailant’s forearm. Rock grinned in thanks at the scared man just as he was relieved of his rifle before a bullet was buried in his head.

Revy had managed to see _that_ happen and she still couldn’t believe it. Using human shields was routine but reloading while using the enemy’s forward punching momentum to help you _cock your weapon_ on their forearm was Hollywood level of madness!

She hoped someone had gotten footage of that because she wanted to see it in full!

“Dutch!” she yelled, just as the black man’s revolver started registering, distracting her victims enough for her to emerge and kill two more of the bastards.

She then slid under her next victim who was back to back with three others before she shot each one of them dead in a deadly fusillade of fire and blood. She had a bloodthirsty grin on her face as she laid down cover fire on the rest of her prey.

She grinned even more as her distraction caused the mercs to forget about their present problem to the right of the bar. They were rudely reminded of that fact when rifle fire shredded three mercs in twice as many shots, and Revy eyed Rock who had an appropriated rifle firing in semi-auto at targets of opportunity, each register of the rifle causing some poor bastard to scream in pain.

The crescendo of chaos reached its peak as the mercs called in reinforcements. Revy and Rock worked in tandem to keep the remaining mercs pinned down and the newly arrived ones dead or pinned as well. At one point, they found themselves fighting back to back, seamlessly transitioning between firing, evading and reloading while covering each other’s backs.

Revy grinned as she shot another one of them dead. “You’ve got some batshit- _crazy_ skills, dipshit!” she yelled over the gunfire. Gunning down someone behind Rock who returned the favor by shooting another behind her, she smirked at him over her shoulder. “What d’ya plan to do after you get out of here?!”

“I don’t know!” Spinning around to slash a merc across the neck, Rock used the dying man as a shield to gun down his friends coming up behind him. “Might just stick with you guys for a bit. You seem like a lively bunch! Could be interesting to run with your crew!”

Smirking as she gunned down several more mercs while dodging their return fire, she yelled back. “With your skills, you’re welcome to stick around!” A couple of more dead mercs joined her tally. “You still owe me a rematch remember?!”

“Appreciate it! Now, _duck!_ ”

And duck she did, just in time to evade a rifle butt to her face. A bloodthirsty grin reemerged as she grinned at the scared merc before filling his face with several 9 mm cocktails. And their dance of mayhem and blood continued.

Revy had already appropriated her own human shield while Rock — the crazy dipshit — _finally_ took cover to reload his new rifle behind the counter just as she heard Dutch call out to them.

“Revy! Rock!” Dutch called, reloading his gun. “We’re leaving!”

“Gotcha!” Revy replied before killing two more mercs with her pistol, her shield still struggling in front of her.

“Roger!” she heard the Japanese man call. Rock passed her, but not before tapping her on her shoulder. “I got you covered!” he called, switching to full auto as he crouched by the door and laid down suppressive fire on the mercs. “Get to the car! I’ll be right behind you!”

Not enough time to argue the point, while inwardly grateful nonetheless, Revy shot a few more mercs before pushing her human shield away then she put a bullet in him too.

Dutch kicked open the back door, revolver registering as he killed two enemies who were guarding the back door before the sounds of Dutch’s Dodge Charger roared onto the scene with Benny at the wheel.

“GET IN!” Benny yelled as Dutch got to the car first, opening both the front and back doors for easy access for the other two.

Just as Dutch turned around to provide covering fire, Revy ran out followed by Rock who was still laying suppressive fire with his rifle into the doorway. The security contractor turned just as Dutch began firing at the shadows emerging from the doorway.

“Dutch!” Rock called, earning his split second’s attention. “Any ‘nades?!”

It was Revy who answered him.

“Here, dipshit!” She tossed him a grenade before entering the backseat.

Rock caught it with ease. “That’s for ruining my drinks, konnoyarō!”

Pulling the pin and then tossing it at the door, he raced onto the backseat before closing the door just as Benny raced away from the bar, the grenade exploding and killing all the remaining pursuing mercs.

Rock breathed a calm breath of relief as he checked himself for wounds. Finding none, he checked his compatriots as well who also sported none, with Revy even putting her feet up on the headrest in a relaxing pose.

Her face was drawn and tired, but her voice sounded normal.

“Hey Dutch,” she began. “Bao was so pissed tonight, he looked like a steaming pot. He says unless we pay him back he’s gonna weld our assholes.”

Rock could already predict Dutch’s dismissive reply. “Scary,” Dutch replied in perfect deadpan. “I think I’m gonna cry.”

Rock double checked his appropriated FN FAL, finding that he had 40 rounds left from 2 box magazines. His Hi-Power had two magazines of 15 rounds left. Not bad for a night’s haul of weapons when he had started out with none. Rock sighed as he put his rifle and pistols on safety, looking out the window to observe Roanapur’s city life.

“First night in the city in a year,” he said, gaining the other’s attention. “And we get into a firefight right off the bat — that has to be a record or something.”

Revy snorted, an amused glint in her eyes that neither Benny nor Dutch had seen on her before. But Dutch had a hunch as to why, and it was sitting right next to her looking as if he hadn’t fought off more than a dozen mercenaries on his own, unsupported and still managed to kill the lot of them with ease.

“Don’t worry — this is tame compared to the other nights in this city,” Revy had a grin pulling at her mouth as she remembered the graceful insanity the Japanese man had done just scant minutes before. “But enough about that, let’s talk about that Hollywood-esque move you did with that other guy.”

Rock raised an eyebrow, as even Dutch and Benny were paying attention. “What?”

“Come on, dipshit, don’t play dumb,” Revy said, irritation in her tone. “The one with the assisted pistol cocking.”

Rock’s eyes lighted in understanding. “Ah, _that_ one,” he nodded. “I don’t think it’s Hollywood-esque if it works just as well in the real-world. My instructor taught it to me years ago.”

“I saw that, and I’m _still_ working on believing it,” She threw her hands up in the air. “I mean, _come on_! I’ve been using my two babies for years and even **_I_** couldn’t do that! What are you, a fucking magician or some shit?”

Rock laughed at the jealousy he detected in her voice. “I can teach you that if you want,” he offered, causing the woman to glare at him. But, Rock can see the tentative hope that sprung up behind her eyes. “Just as long as you can keep up with me that is — is Revy “Two-Hands” tough enough for the challenge?”

Revy heard the challenge in his voice, and she growled at that. She was about to go on another row at him before she finally noticed the playful twinkle that was present in his bright brown eyes which stopped her short. Rarely had someone been interested enough with her bitch-face persona on full blast to even talk to her, let alone _tease_ her. She could count the number of times someone other than Dutch, Benny, Balalaika or the fuckers at the Rip-Off Church had teased her when subjected to her bitchy mask with her fingers.

Apparently, Rock was one of the very few who belonged in that category. And she found that she didn’t mind it at all, and the fact that he was comely to look at and a deadly son-of-a-bitch was just a bonus.

“Bring it on, _Rock._ ” Revy grinned, surprising the _hell_ out of Dutch and Benny. She _never_ called anyone by their given names or nicknames unless they were close to her, like Dutch and Benny, but not someone that they met _today_ — who had also kicked her ass. But that just seemed to fuel Revy’s interest in the Japanese security contractor. “I’ll make you eat those words when I can do it better than you!”

“We’ll see, Two-Hands,” Rock smiled at her, turning to look back out the window. “We’ll see.”

The four of them stayed in comfortable silence after that as they raced back onto their boat.

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

As the _Black Lagoon_ sailed through the South-China Sea, Rock was seated behind Dutch who was helming the boat, cleaning his Gerber MK II with a cloth as well as readjusting the sights of both the Browning Hi-Power as well as the FN FAL. He found that the sighting for the Hi-Power only needed slight adjustment, but the FN FAL needed a _lot_ of work.

Rock muttered curses at the incompetent mercenaries for not properly maintaining their equipment.

“If we maintain this speed, we’ll be at Belawan Port by daybreak,” Dutch said as he made minor course corrections to the PT boat. “From there, we’ll meet up with Balalaika.”

Rock nodded in understanding. “The head of the Russian Mafia out of Roanapur, right?”

“Right in the one,” Dutch confirmed. “I have to say Rock, I didn’t expect that gunfight we had at Yellow Flags to go so well, or so quickly.” Dutch turned to give Rock a respectful nod, thanking him silently. “Revy might be a demon, but you were like a machine back there — systematic, precise and unyielding. Those guys never stood a chance, and I would bet my boat that you could’ve taken that entire platoon alone with no backup, only with a pistol and a knife in hand.”

Rock laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. “I wouldn’t go _that_ far Dutch,” Even though Rock as a former ‘Ghost’ operative could _technically_ do it, doesn’t mean that he _should_. “Revy could’ve handled the entire thing all by herself as well.”

“True,” Dutch conceded. “But she still needed my help to distract her targets so that they couldn’t shoot her that easily. You, on the other hand, could’ve done the same with or without support. Make me wonder what your background was to get that skilled as young as you are…”

Rock smiled. “Maybe you’ll find out,” he said. “Not now, but maybe soon. Who knows what will happen in future?”

Dutch nodded, a knowing look that he understood Rock’s underlying message. The young man would be revealing his secrets soon, just not now when he had only just met them.

Of course, patience was luxury that certain members did not have, and one of them was currently bugging Benny in the computer room.

“Come on Benny!” Revy cajoled. “I know that Rock is an undercover spy or some shit at the company, doesn’t mean that a ransom can’t be reached!”

Benny sighed. “And what’s to stop the company from dropping Rock like his namesake into the sea?” He continued checking his computer equipment without looking at the gunslinger. “From what Rock told us of Asahi Industries, they would sooner sell their own mothers rather than risk exposing their secrets.”

“I know that!” Revy hissed. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t try!”

“My ears are burning.”

Revy and Benny whirled to see Rock poking his head into the computer room, a curious look on his face. “Hey guys, what’s going on?”

“Revy wanted to try ransoming you out to Asahi Industries,” Benny quickly stated.

“Oi, you wanna die Benny?!” Revy shouted. “You’re leaving me with the bag here!”

“It was your idea!”

Rock held up his hands to stall the coming argument. “Okay Revy, from the top,” He crossed his arms casually in front of his chest. “Why did you want to try ransoming me out?”

Revy unconsciously gulped at Rock. He had a curious expression on his face, but she could see his muscles tensing in preparation for ‘fight or flight’, or in his case just ‘fight and fight’. She would never admit to anyone, but she found Rock to be intimidating even without trying because of her knowledge of what he can do, and it slightly scared her to imagine those skills turning against her once more — this time to permanently kill her.

Of course, that knowledge also had the effect of her being _turned on_ like no other!

Once they explain her idea to him, with Revy still giving the resident computer hacker side glares every now and then. Rock nodded in understanding.

“I see,” He turned towards Benny as he said that. “Think you could contact them?”

Benny nodded.

“Then do it,” Rock smirked. Unknown to him, that smirk was wreaking havoc on a certain gunslinger’s mind. “Then ask for Kageyama-san from the Materials & Procurement Department. Let’s see how they handle the wellbeing of their employees who get caught up in their schemes.”

Revy only cheered while Benny went to work on contacting Rock’s former employment. Dutch was informed of what was going on, and he gave the go ahead to do it. After all, it wouldn’t hurt them to try.

After half an hour, Benny finally got the call through an Assault Dial, which Rock knew was no easy task with the equipment that Benny currently had on hand. It further fueled his imagination in thinking just what kinds of havoc the computer geek can do with specialized equipment.

“We’re connected, Rock.” He announced through his earpiece, holding out another for Rock to take who accepted it. “We’re on Assault Dial and the line’s secure.”

“Thanks,” Rock thanked him before heading out towards the bridge where Dutch and Revy who also had their earpieces on so that they could eavesdrop on his conversation. “You guys ready for this?”

Dutch gave an okay signal while Revy grinned viciously.

Putting the earpiece on, the three Lagoon Company members observed as he literally _changed_ in front of them from the confident and easy-going killing machine, to a scared, timid and cowardly crybaby who would’ve been scared by just the sight of a gun going off.

“Department Chief!” Rock said frantically into the earpiece. Revy whistled silently at the man’s acting — it was Oscar worthy, holy shit. He looked all the part of a scared witless salaryman. “Okajima speaking, I’m very sorry! Now, regarding the loss of the disc—!”

The man on the other end of the line spoke. _“Right,”_ Kageyama replied. The Lagoon Company listened as well. _“Don’t worry about that anymore. The disc no longer exists.”_

There was a pause as Rock played the part of dumbfounded shock. Revy bit her lip to keep from laughing while simultaneously thinking of ways to make money off Rock’s acting skills. Holy shit he was good! An easy-going guy with a hilarious sense of humor, a _goddamn_ killing machine and an actor all in one? How is that fair for the rest of the schmucks!?

“I don’t understand, sir.” Rock injected a note of panic in his voice for good measure. He absently saw Benny recording his act with his phone, who smiled cheekily at him as Rock flipped him off.

 _“Given the situation, I’ll tell you, and only you…”_ Kageyama paused. _“…the truth. Don’t tell anyone else. It’s hard to explain but to hedge against a drop in business, our board of directors agreed to help a war-torn country with the development of nuclear weapons_ — _that disc contained the plans.”_

The came as a surprise to the Lagoon Company, but now they knew what Rock had been talking about when he said Asahi Industries had broken international law. He just didn’t specify that it was the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was signed by _Japan_ — Asahi Industries’ homeland. They could also see Rock’s expression, who looked as if he already knew that fact beforehand.

Chances were, he already did.

 _“It’s nothing but trouble for management,”_ Kageyama continued. _“Nukes in this day and age… it makes me doubt their judgement. Eventually I’ll be at the top and then I can do something about this. But in the meantime, this cannot be made public, Okajima-kun.”_

Revy noted Rock’s vicious smirk at what Kegeyama had said, making her smirk as well when the Japanese man turned to her and mouthed, ‘Not fucking likely, mate’, causing Revy to silently snicker. Dutch and Benny also had amused expressions on their faces at Rock’s vindictiveness.

 _“For the sake of the 50,000 employees of Asahi Industries,”_ Kageyama went with the guilt tripping route that pissed Revy off to no end. _“I want you to disappear into the South-China Sea. You’ll be promoted two ranks, to assistant manager_ — _we won’t treat you badly. I’ll also ask for the president and everyone under him to attend your funeral.”_

As Kageyama was monologuing his supposed employee’s demise, Rock had pulled out his phone and connected a scrambler to it, much to Benny’s surprise. He had always wanted one of those. Typing out several short messages, he sent them to their recipients just as Kageyama had one last thing to say.

 _“The professional ruffians should be there shortly,”_ Rock narrowed his eyes at the cold man’s statement. Are they the same mercs who attacked them earlier? _“It was nice knowing you, Okajima-kun. Goodbye.”_

Taking off his earpiece, Rock sighed. He had already sent anonymous messages telling his family that he was fine and dandy, while sending another message to Mitchell to ask him to arrange protection for his family.

Turning to look at the other three people on the boat, he grinned tiredly. “What did I tell you,” he said as a matter-of-factly. “Asahi Industries would sell their own mother’s rather than letting a scandal of this scale go public.”

Without waiting for an answer, Rock turned to head out. “If you need me, I’ll be topside.”

With that he was gone.

A silence came over the cabin as they each took the time to comprehend what had happened.

Benny was the first to break the silence.

“Well, that was interesting,” he said, turning towards Revy. “Looks like your idea is as dead as those mercenaries we fought.”

“Shut it!” Revy barked.

Dutch only sighed, turning back to helm the PT boat as Revy followed Rock outside. She found him leaning on the forward portside torpedo launcher while looking over the horizon with a content look on his face.

“They sure ditched you easily, new employee or not,” Revy began, crossing her arms as a tinge of sympathy slivered through her voice. “Though I do sympathize.”

Rock laughed quietly at that. “Thanks Revy,” He smirked over his shoulder. “Well, once my evidence gets into the right hands, they can kiss their megacorporation enterprise goodbye.”

Revy look amused at that. “For such a mellow guy — and believe me, you are as mellow as you can be in this business, you sure can be cruel when you want to be,” She commented, coming up to stand beside him. “I couldn’t help but applaud you for that though. Not feeling sorry for the other employees?”

Rock waved his hand dismissively. “The bastard was just bluffing,” He noticed Revy look up at him curiously when he said that. “He _knows_ that rival companies had been itching to poach its employees for years now. Even if they go bankrupt now, the employees would be snatched up in no time at all. Win-win for everyone, well, everyone _except_ Asahi Industries of course.”

Revy couldn’t help it, she laughed out loud at that. Rock looked slightly surprised but pleased at the seeing the bitchy and hard-cased Revy “Two-Hands” laughing so freely. Of course, she was laughing at someone else’s misfortune, but seeing as it was Asahi Industries Rock figured he would let it slide.

“I can’t wait to see the chaos you unleash when you do!” Revy snickered, holding her sides as she laughed. “Oh man, I haven’t laughed like this in a long time! Of all the things you made me do—!”

She snickered again.

Rock shook his head with a grin. “Glad you approve.” He then shook his head with an overdramatic sigh of disappointment. “Too bad about your bonus and ransom money though — I might’ve been worth a hefty sum for my troubles.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Revy waved him off, getting her mirth under control. “That fifty-plus-fifty grand you paid us more than made up for that. That doesn’t mean I won’t shoot you in the face later — I want a rematch!”

“Noted,” He replied wryly. Rock then remembered something before putting on his earpiece again. “Hey Benny, you there?”

_“Loud and clear, Rock.”_

“Keep an eye out for anything suspicious coming our way,” Revy paid full attention to him at the seriousness in his tone. “Remember, Kageyama-san said something about professional ruffians coming our way.”

There was a pause.

 _“Too late!”_ Benny yelled. _“Revy, are you and Rock on deck?”_

Revy tapped her own earpiece. “Yeah.”

 _“There’s something coming straight at us over the ocean!”_ Benny reported, causing Rock to immediately scan his eyes over the horizon, more specifically at the rising sun in the east. _“But it’s not a boat. It’s too fast_ — _way too fast. At 3 hours 5 minutes. Can you guys see anything?”_

As he said that, Rock and Revy could hear a distant whupping noise that was getting louder and louder as time went by. Seeing where Rock was looking at, Revy turned and squinted her eyes at the glare of the sun, making out a small shadow looming over the horizon, which was getting bigger, and _bigger…!_

Rock stiffened at the sound. “I _know_ that noise!” He reached for his earpiece. “I’ve heard too much of its kind already! It’s twin turboshaft engines, Soviet-era engineering! It’s a Hind!”

“Confirmed!” Revy shouted as the Hind blasted past over the PT boat. “It’s a low-altitude assault gunship!”

As the Hind banked and headed for another pass, Dutch gunned the engine and the _Black Lagoon_ roared to life, coasting across the waves at 50-plus knots. But, with the air advantage enjoyed by the Hind and its far more powerful engines, the _Black Lagoon_ would never be able to outrun the attack helicopter in any shape or form.

 _‘This is starting to look ugly.’_ Rock thought as his eyes narrowed at the aircraft that was sent by Asahi Industries to silence him.

Well, the working conditions at that company were crap anyway. If they wanted to play hardball, he’ll give them _hardball_.

It was time for Archer to emerge and prove his worth!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter down.
> 
> Woo! I am on a role, ladies and gents! Black Lagoon is such a good anime series I’m surprised I hadn’t gotten into it sooner! Don’t worry, my faithful readers, my other stories aren’t abandoned just yet.
> 
> Destiny Rebirth had gotten stuck since 2018, and the others I need more time to flesh out my writing juices and unclog my brain. Hopefully I’ll get it out as soon as I can.
> 
> This is HEIROFROHAN signing off,
> 
> PEACE!!


	3. Chapter 3: Welcome to Roanapur, Ghost! Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Foreword: I do not own Black Lagoon or some elements of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell series. They belong to Rei Hiroe and Ubisoft Entertainment, respectively.

**Chapter 3: Welcome to Roanapur, Ghost! Part 3**

_“There is no such thing as bravery; only degrees of fear.”_

_\- John Wainwright_

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

The _Black Lagoon,_ the flagship of the Lagoon Trading Company, was currently on a direct course for the Sea of Heaven — the stretch of ocean in the southernmost end of the South-China Sea just before Malaysian-Indonesian waters. And from there it’s a straight shot to Belawan.

However, before they could do that, the crew of the _Black Lagoon_ had run into a bit of a problem.

 _“This isn’t good!”_ Dutch pushed the PT boat as fast as she could go. _“In fact, this is really bad!”_

There was the problem of an enemy Hind attack helicopter currently chasing them out into the sea. As far as circumstances went, Rock had been in worse during his time with the ‘Ghosts’ as well as the JSFG.

 _“He’s coming!”_ Benny reported frantically. _“He’s on our ass!”_

 _‘Thank you for the reminder Benny!’_ Rock thought sardonically as he watched the Hind maneuver into a firing line. _‘It’s not as if we can’t see or hear the large, heavily armed fucking **tank** gunning straight at us!’_

He was broken out of his inner thoughts by Revy. “Rock!” she tossed him his FN FAL. “You’re gonna need this!”

“Thanks!” Rock caught the rifle easily. Pulling back on the charging handle to check if a round was chambered, he nodded. “As good of a comfort for me to feel the weight of a gun, I don’t think this peashooter can do anything to the Hind!”

Revy snorted as she hefted a giant rifle out of the storage area. “I thought you might feel that way!” she replied while loading and cocking her massive rifle, which Rock could now identify as an anti-tank rifle. “But like you said, it’s better to die with a gun in your hands than without!”

“I’d rather _not_ get shredded into mincemeat, _thank you very much_!” Rock exclaimed dryly, earning an amused smirk from the woman.

She set up her rifle on top of the PT boat’s armored cabin, deploying the bipod just as the Hind made its move.

It was Rock who called it first. “He’s firing!” he yelled. “Rockets! _Rockets!_ ”

As the Hind kept firing its rocket pods, none of their payloads ever hit their targets, only impacting harmlessly around the PT boat blowing multiple geysers of seawater into the air and soaking both Rock and Revy who were still on the deck.

As the Hind flew ahead of the boat, Revy growled as she aimed down her sights and cut loose. Her rifle roared as .50 caliber rounds cut through the air at the offending helo.

“We’re pretty sure we know it isn’t good, Dutch!” Revy replied, firing a few more rounds at the helicopter.

Rock frowned, mind racing with plans and counter plans to take down that beast. Without any sort of heavy weapons, aside from the anti-tank rifle, there was no easy way to take down a Mi-24 Hind as that thing is as armored as a light tank, which can take .50 caliber bullets with no difficulty. He growled under his breath; the only way he knew how to destroy that monster—

—was to shoot a bullet down the engine intake port located right below the rotor. From the _front_.

Which was easier said than done.

He had no time to dwell more on that thought however, as Rock spotted the Hind turning back around for another attack run, its nose mounted gun turret rotating as it did. He charged straight at Revy who was lining up another shot.

“Revy, _get the hell down_!” Rock tackled her down onto deck, shielding her body with his.

She had no time to yell at him at the position she was in however as the Hind fired its nose mounted guns, strafing the boat and leaving large pockmarks from its cannon rounds throughout the armored deck of the _Black Lagoon_.

As the attack helicopter veered away, Rock finally got to his feet, extending a hand to the gunslinging woman who looking up at him with a half-shocked, half-angry visage. Revy glared a while longer before grudgingly accepting his hand, having him easily pull her up which honestly shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did.

“I didn’t need your help…” Revy grumbled.

To her annoyance, Rock only laughed.

“I know,” he smiled cheekily. “But we’re still partners until we get to Belawan, right? Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

Revy only huffed irately in response, earning more chuckles from her self-proclaimed ‘partner’ as he looked at where the Hind had gone, seeing it turning around in a holding pattern.

“Well now that we’ve established that that attack helo was sent to kill me,” he commented lightly, as if getting chased by a gunship was an everyday thing for him. For Revy, it served to highlight just what kind of fucked-up scenarios and jobs that he went on before they met on that ship. “And the head of the Materials & Procurement Department won’t care if one of his employees get caught up in his schemes. They just want that disc to disappear — and my life is just an accessory.”

Revy hummed in acknowledgement. “Seems that way to me.”

“Yeah, I got that vibe as well,” Rock agreed. He frowned at the attack helicopter maintaining a holding pattern though. “Is it just me or have they stopped attacking?”

He got a nod from the plum-haired woman.

“No, it’s definitely not just you,” Revy confirmed frowning as well, gesturing for him to follow her into the cabin.

 _“Don’t you find something odd about this, Benny?”_ They heard Dutch ask through their earpieces.

Benny made a noise in agreement. _“Yeah, something’s not right, Dutch.”_ He replied. _“They’ve totally stopped firing at us. They could’ve easily turned us into Swiss cheese.”_

Rock and Revy saw Dutch nod in agreement just as they entered the cockpit via the watertight hatch. “Agreed. Something is not right.”

“Dutch! What’s going on?” Revy asked, leaving Rock to secure the hatch on his way in. “Where did those bastards go?”

“Benny-boy,” Dutch said.

 _“Right then,”_ Benny reported checking on his radar equipment. _“They’ve retreated to a distance of about 5,000 meters behind and have been following us while keeping that distance.”_

Rock narrowed his eyes in concentration as he stared out the window of the helm at the distance, where he spotted several small islets and landmasses as well as what looked like mangrove trees.

 _“What’re they after?”_ he heard Benny ask. _“There’s got to be a reason for this…”_

That’s when it hit him.

“Dutch, I know why they’re doing this!” Rock exclaimed, getting the other’s full attention. “Are there any maps of this area? It’s better if I can just show you why.”

Dutch nodded, turning to the side to pull a large navigation map out of its hiding place. Unfurling it for them to see, Rock needed only a few seconds to analyze the terrain, topography, the number of landmasses and islets around and all the other information on the map before he sighed. Seeing the other’s looks, he just pointed at a particular spot on the map, in relation to the _Black Lagoon_ ’s current longitude and latitude — a waterway.

Dutch saw it as well. “Damn it!” he exclaimed, kicking himself for not seeing it sooner. “It’s this waterway that Rock pointed out.”

 _“That’s it!”_ Benny said. _“The waterway!”_

Dutch studied the map once more. “The path ahead to Belawan is filled with rocks and mangroves,” he explained to Revy who was behind his seat. “As we proceed, the waterway will continue to narrow until—!”

Rock finished for him. “—we won’t have room to do evasive maneuvers,” He nodded to himself. “I’m impressed that these guys thought of something like this to begin with, which makes them dangerous.”

“Agreed — good eye, Rock.”

Rock only nodded with a light grin.

Revy frowned at the map before turning to Dutch. “There’s no shame in running.” She said.

“I agree,” Dutch replied. “Hang on!”

With that he throttled the engine and moved the PT boat onto a course that would lead them out of the waterways. However, the mercs on their backs weren’t going to let them go that easily. They were just about to change course when rockets and machinegun fire erupted all around them.

Dutch tried his best, but in order to avoid the ordinance being thrown at them, he was forced to be led back onto their original course by the mercs, which led them straight into the waterways, just where the pursuing mercs wanted them to be. 

Dutch only hung his head, sighing.

“Don’t tell me I suck at this,” he began. “Well, I guess I can’t redeem myself now even if you told me so.”

Revy only closed her eyes. “I wouldn’t say that…”

“I had no choice in the matter,” Dutch justified. “I had to evade to the right.”

“I know that.”

As they sailed further and further into the waterway, it seemed to them that their options for escape were becoming more and more limited by the minute. Either continue going until they run out of space to sail a PT boat upriver, or let the helicopter catch up to them and finish their job. Not the best odds in Rock’s, but he had worse.

 _“The enemy’s behind us again,”_ Benny reported. _“He’s looking down on us from behind, 5,000 meters from us.”_

As they moved further inland, Revy spotted something ahead.

“Well, would you look at that — a sunken ship,” Revy commented. “What a bad omen for us to be here with that as a sign.”

After they had passed the sunken ship, the PT boat continued onwards for a few minutes more. However, they noted that the sounds of the helicopter’s blades are getting quieter and quieter the further they moved along, and they were wondering about that until Benny piped up.

 _“Dutch, they’ve stopped by the sunken ship,”_ he reported. _“They’re not chasing us anymore.”_

Dutch tsked in annoyance. “It’s no longer in their best interests to waste their energy chasing us anymore,” he concluded. “That’s what it means.”

Revy grunted in irritation. “Bastard…”

Rock only closed his eyes in contemplation, taking in all the information they had gathered on the enemy, their tactics, their willingness to bait and torture their prey before finishing them off. If Rock didn’t know any better, he’d say that the helicopter pilot was a big-name hunter, or rather, a chivalrous knight hell-bent on one-on-one duels to the death.

He hummed as his mind connected the dots, coming to the same exact conclusion every time to lines connected with the dots. It couldn’t be that simple, could it…?

Revy noticed that Rock had his thinking face on. And seeing as how his intelligence and quick wit had gotten them this far without being killed while making things go a lot smoother than she could’ve thought, she was curious about what he had in mind.

“Yo, Rock,” Rock opened his eyes and tilted his head in question at her. She smirked at that habit of his, inwardly finding it rather cute. “Something on your mind? Or are you just sleeping away your last minutes on Earth?”

Rock snorted, flipping her off which caused her to chortle. Neither noticed the eyebrow raising from Dutch and Benny as a result of their byplay.

“I think I managed to figure that bastard out,” Rock announced. “Something about this seemed wrong to me, and I’ve been connecting the dots in my head and it came back to the same exact conclusion.”

Dutch nodded. “What did you figure out about him, Rock?”

“Benny, check your radar and sonar,” Rock requested. “There’s only a dead end in front us isn’t it?”

A few moments of silence. _“Yup.”_

“It already looks that way from here,” Dutch said, already slowing down the boat as he glanced around at the narrower waterway. “If that’s the case there’s no road ahead us anymore — we have to turn around and go back, and he’ll be right there waiting.”

Rock nodded. “That’s what I figured,” he crossed his arms in front of his chest in thought. “And you can bet that he planned all of this out from the start. The chase, boxing us in in this channel, then taunting us by waiting for us at the sunken ship.”

“So that he can finish us off, face-to-face.” Dutch agreed.

Rock chuckled, earning looks from his companions. “So… he’s _that_ kind of bastard,” he threw a knowing look at Dutch. “Rare, _stupid_ ones that think they’re gunmen while sitting behind a Hind and taking potshots at his prey before finishing them off mano-o-mano. He’s making this a bit too easy for us, even for guys like him.”

“What?” “Eh?” “Did you hit your head somewhere?!”

This earned him incredulous looks from the Lagoon Company, causing him to laugh as Rock waved them off. At a glare from Revy though, he calmed down and cleared his throat as he watched Dutch light a cigarette while waiting for him to catch up with his thoughts.

“Our only choice is to go head-to-head with that Hind,” Rock explained. Just as Dutch was about to protest, he continued. “We’re only left with two options. Option 1 — Dutch, are those torpedo tubes loaded?”

Raising an eyebrow at the line of questioning, Dutch nodded. “They are.” He confirmed. “That’s why I’m concerned about a frontal assault — one hit to those and we’ll be flying to the moon.”

Revy huffed. “I _told_ you not to bother with them in the first place!”

“I thought they would’ve been useful on _something_.”

“Don’t worry, they’re perfect for Option 1.” Rock interrupted a growing argument that he could see forming. “With this boat’s speed, the torpedoes and that sunken ship as a launching platform — we have everything we need.”

There was a stunned silence that engulfed the cockpit cabin.

“What the hell do you have in mind?” Dutch asked.

And Rock explained his thought process, and by the end of it they were shocked.

“No way,” Dutch denied. “it’s impossible! Can’t be done!”

Benny on the other hand who had joined them in the cockpit cabin adjusted his glasses. “In theory, this ship is designed to hydroplane,” He held up two fingers to illustrate the water level. “At full speed we’re only in the water by this much.”

Although still stunned at the reckless but _immensely_ ballsy plan, Revy smirked. “Dutch, it’s not as if we’ve got an alternate plan. I’m in.”

“The plan won’t work unless they’re right in front of us,” Dutch replied, helping Revy light her cigarette with his lighter. “Can we count on that happening, Rock?”

Rock nodded confidently.

“Definitely,” he said, mischief bright in his eyes. “They’re having too much fun chasing us around despite having all the advantages. What’s the reason for them to restart the whole fight now? Like I said, he fancies himself a gunman — let’s oblige him and invite him for a head on chicken race. He can’t resist.”

Dutch contemplated the plan, seeing the utter insanity it took for Rock to even think about it and the utter recklessness it took for them to pull it off. It was plausible, but Rock had said this was Option 1.

“Okay, let’s keep Option 1 open for now,” Dutch said, earning nods of agreement all around. “What’s Option 2?”

Rock nodded. “How steady can you hold your boat at top speed?” he asked. “Option 2 needs a stable firing platform.”

“It’s useless remember?” Revy answered. “Not even our anti-tank rifle can so much as scratch that thing, never mind taking it down.”

Rock shrugged modestly. “I’ve done it before with a Dragunov.”

There was a stunned silence, which Rock noted had been happening quite a lot when he was involved.

“Are you fucking with us, Rock?!” Revy snarled, drawing her pistol on him. “Do you think we’re as gullible as we look?! How stupid do you think we are?!”

Rock merely looked straight into her eyes, and Revy could see the determination and fire that was present behind his eyes. She knew those eyes of his were going to be a lot tougher to stare into in the future, unless she wanted to be distracted on a job.

“I can, and I will!” Rock said strongly. “Before going into mercenary work, I was on active duty and was my squad’s Designated Marksman.” Rock’s eyes gained a glazed quality to them as he reminisced his time with the ‘Ghosts’. “My task in case of emergencies where there is a lack of heavy weapons was to shoot down enemy helos by targeting their weak points with my sniper rifle. I’ve done it before, and it will be a lot easier using an anti-tank rifle than a Dragunov, that’s for sure.”

There was a pause as everyone absorbed what the Japanese security contractor had said, and Rock left them to decide whether they were to believe him or not.

Surprisingly, given their initial meeting, it was Revy who made the move first. She holstered her pistols and gave him a very serious look. Rock merely looked back into her eyes without flinching. Seeing the truth in his eyes, Revy believed him.

“Your skills,” she began. “Your best wasn’t close-quarters combat, pistols or assault rifles was it?”

Rock shook his head. There was a reason he had the callsign “Archer”.

“I shoot best with a sniper rifle in my hand,” he answered honestly. “I’m good with other weapons as it was required of my training. But give me a sniper rifle any day of the week and I’ll be a happy camper.”

Revy only sighed loudly. She looked like she wanted to tear her hair out, which also earned her looks from her crewmates.

Revy only facepalmed.

“Do you mean to tell me that me and Dutch,” she gestured to herself and the black man. “Are outclassed in hand-to-hand combat and CQC by someone who’s best skill was to shoot someone from afar and relocate without anybody knowing?”

 _‘Well, when you thought about like that…’_ Rock thought inwardly, grimacing at the half-glare, half look of admiration on Revy’s face. It was decidedly creepy.

“Okay, that settles it then,” Revy finally said, looking towards Dutch. “Dutch, I approve of both options. Both are equally insane, but it’s all we’ve got.”

Benny piped up. “If I may, I can amend the plans slightly,” he said. “We can combine both options in one plan. We’ll go with Option 2 first, and when that doesn’t work, we’ll use Option 1 as a backup plan. Sound good to you guys?”

Revy and Rock nodded while Dutch tapped his fingers on the dashboard in deep thought.

“This guy we picked up is completely out of his mind,” Dutch began. “He’s gotta be insane — but this is _exciting_.” They could see Dutch grinning maniacally as he spoke. “And being excited is an important thing in my books, Rock. Let’s do it!”

Rock nodded as he followed Revy back onto the deck just as Dutch gunned the engine and turned the boat around. Following behind her, he stopped when the sexy woman turned around with the rifle in hand, along with a bandolier of magazines as well.

Revy smirked at him. “I’m betting my life on your skills, Rock.” She handed the rifle and ammo over to him. “Don’t make me regret it and come back and haunt you for eternity. That gun’s expensive as fuck — _don’t lose it_!”

Rock only grinned as he loaded the rifle, pulling back on the charging handle as he did. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Revy!” he said. “Still gotta kick your ass when I train you in assisted pistol cocking!”

“Kiss my ass, Rock!”

Rock winked at her. “I would love to if you don’t shoot my balls off!”

Her tomato red blush was _definitely_ worth her cussing the hell out of him in Rock’s opinion.

As they came up to where the sunken ship was located, Rock tossed Revy his appropriated FN FAL, who caught it with a nod of thanks.

 _“Alright boys and girls, you know what to do!”_ Dutch called out. _“Revy, once that bastard fires heat seeking missiles, shoot your flare away from the boat to draw them away!”_

“Gotcha!” Revy replied with a smirk, cocking the assault rifle as she did.

 _“Once that’s done, do your thing Rock!”_ Dutch continued. _“Don’t mess this up!”_

Rock laughed lightly. “That’s what the backup plan is for!”

As the Hind came into visual range, Dutch gunned the engine all the way forward while aiming for the sunken ship as planned. Rock’s Option 1 depended on the speed of the boat as well as the idiocy of the pilot to commit into a chicken race with them. The sunken ship would be a perfect launching platform for the boat to launch its torpedoes at the helicopter —

— if Option 2 fails, which Rock had already set up at where Revy had done almost an hour ago. Adjusting his sights for minimum zoom due to the decreasing range, he aimed down his sights as he entered a now familiar Zen-like state of mind. Everything else became background noise as he carefully aimed at the Hind’s most obvious weak points — the cockpit or the intake fans right below the rotor blades.

Quickly calculating the factors that would affect his shot — wind speed, the boat’s speed, and weight of the weapon and the guesswork downwind of the rotor blades. All were calculated within a few seconds in Rock’s well-honed mind and instincts as he prepared for the trickiest shot he had ever attempted since ‘Ghosts’ training.

He heard Dutch’s voice over the radio. _“I see the idiot.”_ he called. _“Revy! It’s a chicken race! Send them an invitation!’_

Revy aimed with the assault rifle, toggled to semi-auto and cut loose. Though not as accurate as the anti-tank rifle, all her shots were on target as they heard the distinctive ‘ping’ sounds of bullets bouncing off the armor plating.

They got their wish when the Hind pilot took the bait, lowered his altitude and accelerated at them head on. Hook, line and sinker.

And the race started when the Hind fired off its heat-seekers.

“Revy!” Rock yelled.

“Got it!”

The woman in question drew her infrared flare gun, took aim and fired it into the air. The heat from the flare fooled the infrared sensors of the heat-seekers and both missiles veered right for it, exploding in a brilliant ball of fire away from the PT boat.

 _“We’re on an alpine course unless Rock can take him down!”_ Benny said. _“Revy, you better get in here!”_

“No way, Benny!” Revy shook her head with a smirk. “If we die, we all die fucking standing!”

All of the banter was ignored by Rock who took a calm breath, letting it out as he steadied the rifle. Sighting his first target, Rock took aim as his fingers depressed slightly on the trigger, and he breathed in and out, in… and out…

He pulled the trigger, the giant rifle kicking back into his shoulder as the .50 caliber round streaked towards its target. It took him another split second to resight his second target and pull the trigger, and the rifle jumped again as a second round followed closely to the first.

At first, it looked like he had missed both shots.

But then Revy noticed a flash of light near the engine intake fan right beneath the main rotor before it exploded and started smoldering, much to her shock and awe. The crazy bastard _actually_ did it! That was some of the best shooting she had ever seen in her entire life!

She had seen plenty of amazing gun skills, but Rock was just something else with that rifle of his!

As the helicopter turned and rotated to its right to try and compensate for the damage, the second round that Rock had fired struck another important component; the tail rotor, which sputtered and started belching black smoke as the Hind started going into a death spiral as its propulsion systems were severely damaged.

Rock nodded to himself as he stood back up with the rifle in hand, ejecting the magazine as well as the newly chambered round as he looked up at his handiwork. He had no smirk or smile on his face, but a satisfied look that said, ‘job well done’.

As Dutch slowed down the boat and turned it away from the sunken ship, they all watched as the E.O. Company attack helicopter spin a few more times before it disappeared behind the sunken ship and exploded in a huge fireball.

Rock smiled to himself at that, so he was unprepared for the headlock and noogie that Revy subjected him to, causing him to squawk indignantly as Revy laughed in his ear. Benny and Dutch were already exiting the cabin with smiles on their faces coming to congratulate him on a job well done.

“That was the craziest shit I have ever done so far in my life!” Revy guffawed while still giving him a noogie as he struggled to get out of her strong grip. “But by Fucking Christ those were the best shots I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Holy fucking shit, Rock!”

Benny laughed as well, glad to be alive.

“And we didn’t even resort to Option 1 either,” he noted with a grin. “Just thinking about the equipment being busted from that jump is making my heart ache. Thank God your shooting saved us, man!”

Rock laughed lightly, grunting from effort as he tried to escape the headlock. “Y-You’re welcome, g-glad I could help out!” he managed to reply. “Those weren’t my toughest shots — the idiot made it easier for me just charging right in. It certainly made my job easier.”

He was glad he hadn’t tangled with Revy long enough to experience this the first time they met, or he would’ve been in trouble. This woman was stupidly strong!

Dutch adjusted his sunglasses, grinning as he gave Rock a thumbs up. “All I can say is amen, hallelujah, peanut butter.”

Rock only laughed at that, with Revy finally releasing him from her headlock allowing him to breathe properly once more. As the Lagoon Company prepped to continue their journey to Belawan, Rock could’ve sworn someone was watching him, but every time he turned around he saw nobody there. So, he decided to put it out of his mind for now.

They continued the rest of the journey unmolested, with Rock even managing to get some shuteye in as well. All in all, a very productive day in his opinion.

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

The _Black Lagoon_ pulled into Belawan Port when the sun was starting to set, limping into dock where a host of people were waiting for it.

Upon stepping off their boat, the four of them were greeted by a woman in a red business skirt suit covered by a Soviet-era military coat draped over her shoulders. She had bright blue eyes and very long blonde hair which was pulled up into a high ponytail that made the bunched-up hair look braided. She also had on silky black leggings and black high heels.

However, the most notable feature were the scars that crisscrossed on one side of her face, her neck and Rock could safely assume it also covered the rest of her body. Nevertheless, that deformity did nothing to hide the fact that she was a very beautiful woman.

A very powerful woman as well for Rock could see it in her eyes, the wealth of experience, hardships, tragedy and sorrow that shaped the woman before him. He could also see the authority that she held within those icy blues, as well as a hint of madness and apathy as well.

As expected, given that she was the mob boss of the most powerful Russian Mafia on this side of the Pacific.

“Good work,” the woman — Balalaika — said to Dutch in Russian-accented English. Holding up a hand, she received the disc from the leader of the Lagoon Company. “I love smart work, Dutch. But I’ve got to tell you, you guys look terrible.”

Rock thought they didn’t look _that_ terrible, considering they just fought off the E.O. Mercenary Company (he did a fact check on his private networks, and those guys had top-of-the-line gear by merc standards.) and came out with only some bruises and a battered PT boat, he thought they looked fine.

Only then did Rock note the number of bodyguards surrounding Balalaika, ten in total, and looked as though they could take on an army and win handily. Rock recognized some of those faces from his time in the military as ex-Russian and Ukrainian Spetsnaz.

“We’re not going to a formal party,” Dutch grumbled, joining the others in looking worse for wear. “We’ll dress however we want.”

Balalaika smiled lightly at the group, with Rock noticing her gaze lingering slightly longer on him for a split second before she turned to the other group waiting by a limo.

Rock wasn’t even surprised to see Kageyama and his former supervisor there.

“Now then, Mr. Kageyama,” Balalaika began, holding up the disc for the man to see. “We, from Hotel Moscow, have a code of honor.”

That obviously brought the Asahi group up short. “Oh?” Kageyama asked stiffly, obviously stalling for time. “I thought you were from the Bougainvillea Trade Company?”

 _‘Bougainvillea Trade Company?’_ Rock wondered, thinking back on several off-the-books operations for when he had seen that name before. He was pretty sure the company was on the CIA watchlist for illegal smuggling of weapons and exotic goods but seen as not much of a threat. By the looks of things here, perhaps they should’ve raised their threat level a bit higher.

“We followed through in our own way,” Balalaika replied, walking towards the Asahi Industries group in a slow, almost seductive saunter. She held out the disc for Kageyama to take. “I believe there shouldn’t be any grudges.”

Kageyama hid his reaction, but Rock could see the slight twitching of his right hand as he reached out and took the disc from the beautiful Russian mob boss. Kageyama was not happy, but no one other than those trained in body languages could recognize the tell.

Kageyama pocketed the disc under his business suit. “The world is full of things that cannot be helped.” He finally said, straightening his suit to save what’s left of his dignity.

If Rock could see that, so could Balalaika and judging by her widening smile, she noticed. “Now it’s your turn to follow through in your own way,” she continued. “We’ll go over the details at the hotel.”

“Very well,” Kageyama waited for the other man in a suit to open the door for him. Before stepping in the car however, he turned to look at Rock. “Thanks for the good work, Okajima-kun. Come along, then.”

Rock’s former supervisor, Fujiwara, turned pleadingly to Rock. “Okajima-kun, what are you doing?!” he hissed nervously. “Come on, we’re going to be late!”

Feeling the eyes of his new friends — yes, they were _friends._ Fancy that. — on him, Rock nonchalantly walked forward before standing straight at attention.

“Boss, don’t you remember?” He began, loosening his teal tie. This had the unintentional effect of making him look more intimidating than usual, despite his neutral visage. “I’m already dead. You told me so a few hours ago. My name… is _Rock_.”

Kageyama had the gall to look remotely amused by that, judging by the slight twitching of his usually flat lips and cold face. “Is that so?” he closed his eyes and turned away in dismissal. “Then do as you wish. Fujiwara, let’s get going.”

“Y-Yes sir.”

And with that, the Asahi Industries group boarded their limousine and drove off into the city, heading to where Rock would assume to be a branch of Hotel Moscow.

As he watched them go, inwardly smirking at them being unaware of Archer’s data-mine a few months ago, the soft clacking of heels got his attention as he turned to look at Balalaika who was approaching him with a few bodyguards a step or two behind.

“Rock,” she said, her Russian-accented English making sound oddly alluring. “Sorry for making you talk with those idiots. But I’d consider it a great waste for a tough guy like you stay Japonski.”

She then looked at him through half-lidded eyes. “But then again… you’re _not_ your typical Japonski, am I right?”

Rock raised an eyebrow at her. He noticed that the curious gleam in her eyes had a tinge of irritation in them, which was reflected slightly by her body language. He figured that she must have been frustrated with her organization’s continued failed attempts at cracking his personal history and service records.

 _‘Heh, good luck cracking the Ghost’s encryption!’_ Rock thought to himself, promising to send his old unit something exotic in his next care package.

Looking at Balalaika who was still waiting for his response, Rock merely smiled and bowed slightly to her in deference. “I might be,” he conceded. “But I’m just your typical Japonski shanghai-ed onto the Lagoon Trading Company with a particular set of skills, nothing more Ma’am.”

Balalaika laughed softly at that, nodding at him as a car pulled up alongside her as her bodyguard opened the door for her. She stepped into the car and her bodyguard closed the door for her before she rolled down the windows and looked at him.

“I like that attitude of yours,” she said with a small smile. A _dangerous_ smile, one which held promises. “I see that you are content with working alongside Dutch and his crew. We’ll be seeing each other again very soon. Until that time, please know that you can come to us anytime if you ever need help.”

She closed her eyes and smiled pleasantly at him. “Goodbye for now, Rock.”

Rock bowed as the car drove away, only standing back up until the car was out of sight. The intelligence reports on her were all wrong — Balalaika wasn’t just dangerous: she’s the most dangerous and most powerful woman that Rock had ever met. He only hoped that he, or anyone else for that matter, wouldn’t get on her bad side.

The world might just implode if Rock were to face off against Balalaika in open conflict, considering the support that both sides had on their speed dials.

“So, Rock.” He heard Dutch ask as Rock walked back to the Lagoon Company trio. “What will you do now? Besides heading back to Roanapur of course.”

“I’m technically no longer a hostage,” Rock shrugged, smiling as he did. “And until my next big security contract job, I’ve got nowhere else to be at the moment.”

With the light of the sunset haloed around her, Revy looked as beautiful as she was deadly when she looked to the side with a beautiful smirk on her face.

“Hey, there’s this crew I’ve heard of that could use a good sailor,” Revy commented offhandedly, smirking wider when she caught Rock’s own smirk as well. “Do you think you would be interested? It’s a small delivery company—”

“—who sometimes break the rules to put food on the table,” Rock finished for her as he stood in front of them, smiling cheerfully. “Am I right?”

Revy just scoffed playfully, causing Rock to laugh.

“You know what, I might just do that,” Rock said with a laugh. “It will be fun to see my colleagues faces in the security contract work when I tell them I do semi-piracy on the side. I think they’d die of choking on their own egos!”

All four of them chuckled at that, well-used to the fact that private military contracting agency contractors have egos the size of an island, with no skill to back them up. That was why most clients tend to go full-blown mercenary rather than go through security contractors — they perform better, and they’re oftentimes cheaper to hire. That was why the three of them were surprised by Rock’s job title, as he had no overinflated ego and a wicked sense of humor to match his fighting skills.

As the Lagoon Company plus their new crewmember settled into the _Black Lagoon_ for the voyage back to Roanapur, they settled into a comfortable silence as they minded their own business, with Dutch helming the boat, Benny checking his computer equipment and Revy cleaning her two pistols.

Rock on the other hand was contemplating revealing his origins to his new colleagues, of course with most of his service history redacted due to their covert natures. He also, under no circumstances, reveal that he was and still part of the infamous ‘the Ghosts’ of the United States Army, despite his Japanese citizenship.

That was information that Rock would take to his grave if need be.

“Hey, Rock,” Revy’s voice pulled Rock out of his musings. “What’s got you so wound up? You’re making that thinking face again, and it’s pissing me off because you can’t share.”

“Private thoughts are private for a reason, Revy.” Rock’s reply was perfectly dry.

Revy glared at him. “I know that, dumbass!”

Rock chuckled. “I know, I know, calm down.” He put his hands up in surrender. “I was thinking of letting you guys see some my service record before I went private, but if you don’t want that—!”

“Do it! Do it, you dipshit!” Revy practically jumped over her workstation to pull at his collar, shaking him as she did. “Don’t make me put a bullet in you, Rock! Now, spill!”

The commotion caught Dutch and Benny’s attention, and hearing the reason for Revy’s outburst, they were interested as well. Benny especially was all but salivating at knowing what kind of cyber security was in place to hide Rock’s identity and was just as excited as everyone else. Dutch, being a war veteran himself, recognized another war veteran when he saw one and was curious to know which conflict he had been involved in before going into the world of private security contracting.

Once he was able to convince Revy to stop shaking him, the four of them found themselves in Benny’s workspace, with the resident tech specialist taking a backseat as he allowed Rock access to his systems. Revy and Dutch were overlooking the Japanese man’s shoulders and at the screen where Rock had just finished keying in his security overrides and identity authorization which included a fingerprint and retinal scan which he had connected via his phone.

With a flourish, Rock pressed the enter key and lo and behold, his service records and personal details were shown on the screen, minus the redacted ones of course.

Revy whistled as she scanned over the information shown on the screen, with Dutch doing the same while Benny was just flabbergasted. His service record was impressive, for lack of a better word.

“Fucking hell, Rock,” Revy scanned over the number of operations and engagements he had participated both before and after dropping out of the military. “How the fuck are you still alive after fighting through all of these?”

“Beats me,” Rock shrugged. “My former CO says that I was blessed or something, as I was never hit by enemy fire unless I wanted to be hit.”

Revy snorted. “I can believe that,” she looked at his combat record again. “No way anyone normal can dodge my shots, and I’m the best shot in Roanapur!”

“Well, you obviously still need some work.” Rock shot back.

“I swear Rock, I’m going to fucking _murder_ you!”

Dutch frowned. “You’ve been through some pretty heavy stuff, Rock.” he pointed out the list. “Enlisted in late ’03, finished basic training at the top of your class. Initiated combat operations in Iraq as part of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force stationed there, getting commendations and rising quickly through the ranks by showing initiative and creative thinking on the battlefield. Stayed for a 2-year tour before you were transferred back to Japan where you were fast tracked and transferred to Japan’s 1st Airborne Brigade, and from there you achieved your Ranger qualification and held your highest rank as a Master Sergeant.”

The black man leaned forward at the next information. “And here comes the interesting part,” he pointed at the screen. “It also says here as one of the most experienced and decorated NCOs of the brigade, you were scouted out for Japan’s Special Forces Group, or the “S” Group.”

This information slightly shocked Revy and Benny. _Rock_ had been special forces? When they thought about it, it made an eerie amount of sense considering how skilled Rock was in the art of gunplay, CQC and keeping a level head in high-stress combat situations, which was par the course for Roanapur’s daily life.

“After that, the rest of your service record is redacted — understandable,” Dutch nodded, lighting a smoke and taking a puff from it. “It makes sense that you were once part of the special forces. You had to learn your skills from somewhere after all. But here’s the question: you spent a total of 9 years in the Self-Defense Force, serving with distinction before you decided to retire and go private. Why?”

There was a moment of silence as everyone looked at Rock who was staring up the ceiling in thought. Why had he, a decorated soldier in the Japanese Special Forces, had chosen to suddenly retire and go in private mercenary work? There had to be a reason for his choice, and they were curious as to the reason why.

“I’m sorry,” Rock apologized softly, a haunted quality coming to his brown eyes. The same kind that Revy had seen back in Yellow Flags which was so like her own whenever she looked in the mirror. The look of self-hate and infinite regret. “I don’t think I can share my reasons for right now, as even _I_ hadn’t even come to terms with it yet. All I can say is that, me and bigger picture politics? We don’t mesh well, _at all_. And that’s a big no-no while serving your country’s special forces.”

There was a long, tense silence as the other three quietly absorbed what Rock had said. It sounded there _was_ something that cause his eventual leaving of the army, and like he had said, it had something to do with politics. If Dutch were a betting man, and he _is,_ he’d say that either Rock was betrayed by his country, or his country’s decisions went against everything he stood for and ultimately forced him to resign his commission.

If that were the case, Dutch knew that feeling all too well. He had been a ‘Nam veteran after all, and that was America’s thankless war that thye ultimately lost due to politics.

“I understand Rock,” Dutch hesitated, before he reached out and softly patted Rock on the shoulder. “When you’re ready, we’ll be here.”

Benny merely nodded while Revy uncharacteristically nodded with a serious look on her face, her amber eyes looking haunted and far away where she was remembering the times when she was just a child, trying to survive on the streets and not get killed by any gangbangers or random junkies. She had lost her innocence practically since the moment she was born.

Revy couldn’t decide whether she wanted to know more about Rock’s story or stay immensely angry at him for making her relive those thoughts. She finally chose the latter — it was easier for her to feel anger and hatred, while squashing the insidious voice whispering that she was just running away from her problems yet again.

They stayed like that in respectful silence during the final leg of the journey back to Roanapur.

**\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//\\\//**

After they had arrived back in Roanapur, the four of them drove to the office where the Lagoon Company used as a headquarters and meeting place to get some drinks after a long day. They stayed up late into the night, talking, bullshitting and getting to know one another better as they polished off the alcohol stockpiled in the fridge.

After a few more drinks, Rock announced that he was heading out to get some affairs in order before he would go house hunting the next day. Dutch flat out stated that Rock could use the office as a place for him to crash until he had gotten a home for himself, with Revy snarking that he shouldn’t slack off and mooch from company funds by being lazy. After all, he was a part of the company now, and he had to pull his own weight.

Rock only managed to resist a cheeky remark but thought better of it. No need to put himself in hot water by poking the dragon.

And here he was, walking into a bistro and bar that _wasn’t_ Yellow Flags seeing as it was thrashed. He took a seat, ordered a few drinks for himself while casually pulling out his phone. He then typed out a quick message and sent it off. Once his drink arrived, Rock took leisurely sips of it as he took in the bistro’s atmosphere, aware of the seedier people of the city and had brought his pistol with him just in case.

As he finished his drink, his phone vibrated with an incoming message. Picking it up, he checked the message before he stood up, leaving a tip for the waiter before heading back out onto Roanapur’s streets.

Double checking his fanny pack and the contents within, Rock casually walked along the sidewalks, a single face among many despite the late hour. Although known for its moniker of “City of the Dead”, it is also sometimes known as the “City that never Sleeps” due to most of its businesses and services operate better and more discretely at night which was easier to hide any ‘discrepancies’.

Looking up at a battered neon sign reading “Fortune Etchings” and the shop which the sign advertised for having long since ran out of business, Rock took a turn into its back alleyway before stopping at a graffiti art which depicted an eagle with its claws outstretched ready to bear down on its prey. To anyone else, the graffiti was nothing more than a reasonably-painted street art.

For Rock however, it symbolized a different meaning.

Reaching forward, he found a small opening in the wall where the claws of the eagle were drawn before removing the piece of concrete covering it. Fishing out the two flash drives in his fanny pack, Rock carefully inserted them into the opening in the wall, covered it back up with the small piece of concrete before he walked off and blended himself back amongst the crowds.

Everything was quiet in the dark alley, and for more than half an hour it stayed that way.

A dark figure with three glowing green ‘eyes’ dropped down from its hiding place on the roof and scanned around for intruders, its ‘eyes’ cycling through multiple vision settings before the figure turned towards the eagle graffiti and removed the flash drives embedded within the eagle claw. Nodding to itself, the figure then quietly moved into a shadowed corner and promptly disappeared as if he was never there, leaving the alley in silence once more.

On his way back to the Lagoon Company office, Rock received a notification on his phone as he pulled it out. Reading the message, he just smiled before slipping it back into his pocket, whistling a merry tune as he did.

Over the next few months, Asahi Heavy Industries would suddenly come under heavy political and legal pressure as the National Diet started its investigation into the company’s violations of international law and several other charges that were left pending.

On being asked why they were being investigated, the National Diet would state that they had received information from an anonymous source that implicated the company in multiple offenses and violation which, when convicted, would see the entirety of Asahi’s Board of Directors jailed and company assets seized by the government.

After a prolonged legal battle with the government, with Asahi Industries throwing every lawyer and judge it had on its payroll at the case, it only delayed the inevitable as the information provided by the government revealed the depth of Asahi Heavy Industries’ illegal dealings to the world. Asahi Industries’ final death knell was sounded when details of their dealings to provide plans to a war-torn country to build their own nuclear weapons were submitted as proof by the National Diet, the courts finally made its decision and declared Asahi Heavy Industries to be guilty on all counts.

Asahi Industries declared bankruptcy a month after the guilty verdict, its Directors convicted and imprisoned, and the company’s liquid assets dissolved and absorbed by either the government or by rival companies. And true to Rock’s prediction, in the wake of Asahi Industries’ dissolution, its employees were absorbed into their rival company’s workforce almost overnight, proving that Mr. Kageyama’s threat to Rock was just a bluff all along.

Of course, that would only happen in the next several months, but for now, Rock was content at having played his part in the demise of Asahi Heavy Industries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! Chapter 3 is finished!
> 
> Hopefully, you guys liked this chapter where we learn more about Rock’s past in the special forces, and his reasoning which led to his leaving the military for the private sector. Before saying that the ‘shooting down the Hind with a rifle’ thing is unrealistic, need I remind you that it is an ANTI-TANK RIFLE, aimed at the intake fans of the helicopter which would most certainly cause damage. If anything, this stunt is MORE realistic than half the shit done in Black Lagoon, which will be brought to you in glorious black and white by yours truly!
> 
> And I left an Easter egg at the end there! Anyone can figure out who that mysterious figure was? And the part about Asahi Heavy Industries’ demise was one I had in mind when reading the mange and watching the anime. Some people really needed to have comeuppance served to them on a silver platter, and here is my take on it. Do you guys like it?  
> Anyway, that’s all from me this time. Have a good one, everyone and stay safe!
> 
> This is HEIROFROHAN signing off,
> 
> PEACE!!


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